Caleb Melby '11

About Caleb

Hometown:
Mankato, MN

University Partner:
Northwestern University

Degree:
Journalism, Integrated Marketing Communications

Grant Partner:
Forbes Media

Senior Mentor:
Bruce Upbin

"Steamboat is not for the faint of heart. Your long days will be topped off with provocative dinners. Your weekends will be filled with challenge and adventure. Your fellow Scholars are impossibly driven. You have no choice but to give it your all."

Scholar Background

Caleb Melby was born the first of three sons to Scott and Carmen Melby in Mankato, MN. He picked up a paper route in middle school and maintained the job until he graduated. That was his first brush with newspapers -- and with headlines like "Cougar gets in noisy scuffle with wild turkey," who can blame him for making journalism his chosen career path? In high school, he became the managing editor of the embarrassingly named West Side Story and served as student council president for one-and-a-half years. After high school, he worked as a door-knocker for Representative Tim Walz, traveling to small towns and talking politics with strangers on their doorsteps. Caleb worked in constituent relations in Walz' Mankato office the following summer. He went on to attend Northwestern University's Medill School, where he began writing for Northbynorthwestern.com. Later, he would become the executive editor of the website, interviewing the likes of Harrison Ford, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Seth Meyers along the way and writing the cover story of the appending magazine, which had been named Best Student Magazine by the Society of Professional Journalists in 2009. In 2010, Caleb wrote editorials for The Chicago Tribune, including one about then-on-trial Rod Blagojevich, who had earlier leveraged his power as governor in attempt to fire the Tribune's editorial team. Caleb then co-founded a.dept advertising, a full-service agency that went on to win two Addy awards for its work. He spent spring of 2011 reporting on strikes, elections and xenophobia in Johannesburg, South Africa for The Times.

Internship Description

During his internship with Forbes, Caleb worked with Tom Post, the managing editor of the magazine, and former Steamboat senior mentor, to compile a list of the 50 Most Innovative Companies. He also blogged for CMO Network editor Jenny Rooney and valuated wealthy Americans and their companies with Richlist editor Luisa Kroll. He continues to work on an extended project with Steamboat senior mentor and website managing editor Bruce Upbin.