DURANT HIGH SCHOOL

Caleb Tubaugh has lived in Brandon all his life with his mom, Shawn Tubaugh. His father and nana lived with them until they passed. Prior to DHS, he attended Mulrennan Middle School and Buckhorn Elementary.

Caleb describes himself as light-hearted, resilient, and clever. He’s resilient because he’s faced some difficult situations (such as losing his dad and back surgery at age 10) and yet has persevered with his plans. He’s a quick learner, enjoys challenging problems, and has a unique sense of humor, too.

His personal hobbies include programming, biking, reading, playing guitar and video games. Currently, he’s programming a chat bot that both reacts to commands and runs on a timer. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a favorite read.

Favorite classes included AP Physics 1 “because it gave a real application to the math I’ve been learning for so long, and working through tough problems with multiple equations is satisfying. Astronomy is incredibly interesting, too; I’ve enjoyed space since I was a kid, and it lets me learn some of the history of science.”

For his accomplishment as salutatorian, Caleb first credits his family, explaining, “When I was younger, my mom would say, ‘Well, you don’t have to go to school. That way, you’ll never be smarter than me.’ My dad inspired my passion for technology and patiently taught me computer basics. My nana always listened intently to my achievements and bragged to anyone who would listen, making me want to do something even greater to continue making her proud. Because of these, I was determined to do well academically from a young age.”

“Living in Eastern Hillsborough County has allowed me to attend to great schools, which have offered the ability to make amazing friends and have some outstanding teachers. Two of those, Mr. Stone and Mr. Stwan, have taught some of my favorite classes and helped me grow as a person. Mr. Stone specifically helped me discover my love for both physics and robotics.”

Within ten years, Caleb hopes to be working for a robotics company because “current technology has some amazing humanoid robotic technology and I’d love to help develop it further.” He added, “My biggest dream is to compete in combat robotics, especially the heavyweight category.”

In offering advice to other peers, Caleb suggests: “The most important thing when striving to achieve any goal that takes this much time and effort is to plan around it and pace yourself. There’s a point where being a normal teenager- as in, having fun, relaxing, hanging out with friends, etc.- is more important than a competitive ‘smart’ score.”