Notes and synths of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” by Mozart over a baby monitor dance through the ears of young Caleb Tang (’25). Inspired to further pursue music, Caleb transitioned from participating in competition to volunteering to teach young children, sparking his interest in mentorship from music to business and entrepreneurship. 

Caleb began his musical journey at six years old, taking up piano. Soon after he received his Certificate of Merit at the end of middle school, he ventured to extend his expertise and enthusiasm to young prospective musicians. It was then that piano altered from a competitive interest into a hobby that Caleb seeked to spark in others.

“Eventually it became more of an interest as something that was fun for me,” Caleb said. “What was more fun for me was teaching others about how to play piano and seeing their musical interests spark then exploring my own passion through teaching and being able to give students a piece of how fun it can be.”

Caleb recalls how his younger brothers, fourteen-year-old Micah and eight-year-old Ryan, inspired him to pursue teaching and volunteering, as he often played his brothers’ favorites pieces on the piano for them, developing a more personal connection to his music. 

“If you approach something with a mindset that you just want to get it done, there’s not a lot of fun that comes out of it,” Caleb said. “What was more fun for me was teaching others about how to play piano and seeing their musical interests spark, and then exploring my own passion through teaching.”

Building off his piano expertise, he sought to teach young students by connecting lessons to their interests. He specifically highlights his love for one-on-one sessions, which allow him to understand students on a deeper and more personal level through tailoring lessons to their interests and allowing their individual characters to shine. Further, Caleb prides himself on allowing mentees to learn pieces of choice.

“I can speak towards what I can tell that they’re passionate about,” Caleb said. “I can speak to their learning style, whether it’s being humorous, being straightforward, or giving them analogies. With piano, the best thing that I did was that I would never give them a piece to play, but let them choose a piece that they would hear and that they wanted to play, so they could be excited about it.”

Beyond piano, Caleb’s interest in Business and Finance blossomed in frosh year, when he took Principles of Business and Entrepreneurship. He soon became involved in DECA, competing in finance-related events, mentoring, and becoming director of finance and operations of Harker’s DECA team in his sophomore and junior years. He notes how learning about risk management inspired him to pursue further studies in economies and business, like Econometrics. 

“Something I always liked about business was the aspect of risk,” Caleb said. “Specifically, not just taking a traditional pathway, but more so having that inherent risk in taking risky investments. Or in the realm of finance, doing moves that you know won’t always generate you the highest return. There’s something fun in having risks in your life.”

Caleb embraces the unconventional in his teaching styles both because of its effectiveness and his firm belief in making lessons fun during the learning process. Moreover, he highlights the importance of getting to know peers, colleagues, and students in a non-professional sense, understanding their interests and characters. Reflecting on his early high school years, Caleb remarks at how growth remains rooted in the act of trying, and how repetition, experience, and practice enable the development of skills, whether in piano, DECA or beyond.

“In DECA mentorship, depending on the type of person that I got, I could teach them in a much more strategic way,” Caleb said. “Making and giving them connections to things in their life that were applicable to them, it gave them a much better understanding of the topic. A lot of the time, skills like that can be daunting to approach, but if you give them a connection to things that they’re passionate about, it’s a lot more effective.”

Close friend Bowen Xia (’25) has known Caleb since sixth grade through activities such as shared classes, DECA and academics competitions. Throughout their friendship, both have also bonded over a shared love and friendly competitive spirit for basketball. Bowen admires Caleb’s driven and confident nature, always ready for a challenge.

“If he wants to get something done he’ll do it, and he’ll ensure that he’ll take the steps and plan to get it done,” Bowen said. “He doesn’t really care about what other people think, in the sense that he’s not afraid to do whatever he wants to do, so he’s not going to let others’ opinions hold him back.” 

AP Physics C teacher Chris Spenner reflects on teaching Caleb when he was junior last year. Caleb’s interest to travel translated into his ability to connect personal experiences with a greater worldview, especially given that a large unit of the AP Physics C curriculum consisted of transportation.

“The richer the assignment was, the more opportunity there was for creativity and depth of analysis, and the deeper he would go with it and the more he would challenge himself with it,” Spenner said. “He has that ability to kind of mentally consider different perspectives, and he has this kind of a rich sense of the world.”

Even while being involved in a variety of B&E and STEM extracurriculars, Caleb still notes the importance of finding self-pride and confidence in accomplishments, highlighting how the outcome does not equate to the lessons learned in the journey to achieving goals. 

“Remind yourself of what you’re thankful for and how far you’ve come, and that can alleviate a lot of stress,” Caleb said. “There are so many implications in life. Just remind yourself of how much bigger the world is and how much more there is than that one thing. It’s never the end of the road for you.”