Meet Caleb Demarest: A Fall 2025 Graduate Who Earned an Electrical Engineering Degree as a Full-Time Gymnast
Caleb Demarest was just eight years old when he tried gymnastics for the first time. The sport challenged him, but the thrill of it kept him coming back. With more practice, he found his skillset and excelled at the vault, rings, and pommel horse—all difficult events that demand precision, control, and strength.
So, when it came to choosing a college, Demarest needed flexibility and an education that would work with his schedule, which includes up to 15 hours of gymnastics practice per week. At CU Denver, he found all that and much more, including a degree he’s passionate about and with a dream career in sight. On Dec. 13, he’ll walk across the stage at fall commencement with a bachelor of science in electrical engineering. “I chose CU Denver so I could continue my gymnastics career,” Demarest said. “Because of my classes, I fell in love with radio frequency and electromagnetics.”
More Than a Sport
Demarest grew up north of Denver in Thornton. As a child, his parents tried to put him in taekwondo, but he didn’t like the class dynamics. Gymnastics was different for him. He liked that the sport was structured, technical, and offered a clear path for progression. “It’s a unique sport where every new skill almost guarantees failure at first,” Demarest said. “You fall and fail repeatedly, each attempt just a little better than the last.” He stuck with it and quickly progressed through recreational classes.
When he was in high school, Demarest was approached by a coach for the Rocky Mountain Mavericks, a collegiate men’s gymnastics team that attracts athletes from across Colorado and the country. They compete nationwide against National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) teams. The coach asked Demarest to join the team, and the answer came easily. “Gymnastics had been my entire life up to that point, and I wasn’t ready to lay that part of myself to rest,” Demarest said.
As he was considering his options for college, gymnastics was top of mind. Demarest was drawn to CU Denver for its location—he could live at home with his family, commute to campus for classes, and finish his weekdays at the Mavericks’ evening practices. He also appreciated the university’s affordability compared to some out-of-state colleges he explored. As he dug into his courses and got to know his professors in the College of Engineering, Design and Computing (CEDC), he found a new passion through his academics.
Preparing for His Dream Career
Demarest had always been interested in computers and the complex hardware that makes them run, so he picked a degree in electrical engineering. The course Signal Processing and Electromagnetic Fields with Department of Electrical Engineering Chair and Professor Mark Golkowski, PhD, helped him realize his potential. “He’s an incredibly good professor and incredibly good at breaking down complex math in a very digestible way that allows you to understand what the math is actually doing,” Demarest said. “That really helped me get through the program.”
Another transformational course was Intro to Computational Electromagnetics with Distinguished Professor Stephen Gedney, PhD. “He has a very deep understanding of electromagnetics,” Demarest said. “That’s when it clicked for me.” From there, he became interested in fields, waves, and optics. These properties are the basis for all modern communication, he explained. “It’s how all information travels through the air,” Demarest said.
He became so dedicated to his studies that he took an on-campus job as an electrical engineering lab manager and enrolled in the Electrical Engineering Scholars Program, which means he will earn his master’s degree in electrical engineering just one year after he graduates with his bachelor’s degree. In summer 2026, he will begin an internship at FIRST RF Corporation, an aerospace company based in Boulder. “Because of CU Denver, I feel well prepared,” Demarest said.
Gymnastics has also helped him get ready for his next chapter. Aside from the technicalities of the sport, Demarest has gained valuable life skills. “It’s provided me an incredible work ethic and discipline, and a resiliency to failure,” Demarest said.
While he’s not planning on stopping gymnastics any time soon, CU Denver is preparing him for his dream career as an antennas engineer in the defense industry. His two passions will continue to complement each other in the classroom and on the mat. “I don’t give up,” Demarest said. “I keep working on a problem until I solve it.”