Caleb has always liked making things. Growing up, he spent time woodworking and welding at home. At 16, he wanted to see if manufacturing could be a career for him. He found an apprenticeship close to home at Two Rivers Enterprises (TRE) in Holdingford.

“An apprenticeship is definitely a good way to find out what you want to do. You’re making money while you get to experience different sides of the business. At TRE I mainly got to run the laser, but I also got to see how a few different CNCs work and experience other parts of the operation as well.”

Seeing how different parts of the shop worked helped Caleb decide what to study after high school. He enrolled in the two-year mechatronics program at Alexandria Technical and Community College, where he’s learning about mechanical, pneumatic, hydraulic and electronic systems. He received a $1,000 scholarship from the Central Minnesota Manufacturers Association (CMMA) and a $500 scholarship from TRE to help pay for the program.

Caleb is now completing a college apprenticeship at Aagard in Alexandria. He’s getting experience in controls programming and learning how the mechanical parts of automated packaging systems come together. He’s still exploring which role he’d like to pursue after graduation, but he plans to stay in manufacturing, likely in Central Minnesota.

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