Caleb Chmielewski works as the Business System Administrator for Marine Credit Union (MCU). In his role, he oversees MCU’s online banking platform. He started this position six months ago but has been with MCU for six- and one-half years. Starting in lending and after working on several projects through the company, Caleb shared, “I don’t ever like to be bored.”
Caleb grew up in New London, Wisconsin which is within an hour of Green Bay. He majored in Business Administration with an emphasis in Human Resources and Management and minored in Communication while attending the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay. From human resources to communication, Caleb said he enjoyed always being involved in many different things and in doing so has allowed him to grow those areas of involvement and grow himself.
Caleb now works directly with employees in MCU’s Contact Center and Deposit Operations teams and these “staff members,” he explained, “communicate directly with our members.” In this way he said that he enjoys the impact he can have on everyone.
Seeing that MCU’s online banking mobile and desktop platforms update six times a year, Caleb said, “There is a lot of change. It keeps me very busy. Every day, I am learning something new. There is always something new to understand.” He said that this helps him to feel “more well-rounded and more marketable” for his career path.
He shared that although he never really intended to work in a financial organization, he started at MCU as an intern in college. He has seen a lot of changes at MCU over the years and knows that it is important to change because of the world that we live in. “There is always change, so we have to be available to our members and where they want to be met,” he added. “MCU was my first ‘big boy job’ and the only thing I’ve really ever known.”
Caleb met his wife Stephanie during his freshman year in college. They still live in the Green Bay area, love the outdoors, are avid mini-golf players, and have a “two-year-old spitfire” and “very adventurous” little girl, Berklee. “She doesn’t have a care in the world,” he said smiling. “She has a lot of sass. She’s very good … but has her moments.”
“I promise you,” Caleb continued about Berklee, “she’s feisty.” He laughed and shared that he grew up with a single mom and his two brothers, a “male dominate home” and now finds himself in a “very female dominated home.” He added, “even our dog (a 65 pound chocolate lab named Bella) is female.” It’s a good thing that he said he enjoys being a “girl dad.”
“My mom taught me a lot of things,” Caleb shared. “Mom really worked hard to provide us with what we needed. I get my work ethic from my mom. She really motivated me to provide for my family.”
Caleb also shared what he called his, “claim to fame.” When he was in college, he was recruited to be on the cheerleading team. He told them, “Not really,” when asked. But after he learned that as a cheerleader, he would get to be on the sidelines and cheer for the Green Bay Packers, he was in. “I was on the sidelines at Lambeau for 50 games. Not a better seat in the house and I didn’t have to pay to be there.”
A highlight for Caleb: “As a little kid, I always wanted to end up on SportsCenter,” he shared. “When Aaron Rogers broke his collarbone, I was on SportsCenter,” he explained having been standing in the background when they took Rogers off the field.
The irony though? “I can’t stand the Packers,” Caleb said and laughed. “I’m a die-hard Lions fan.” Even though the Lions have had zero playoff wins since he became a fan, he laughed again and said, “Green Bay fans are starting to get a taste of it right now.”
Why has he stayed loyal to the Lions all this time? “I’m a very loyal person,” he said. “Not a bandwagon fan.” So even after 25 years, he said, “I’m still waiting for them to turn it around.” One of his best moments, he shared, was being on the sidelines to see the Lions beat the Packers at Lambeau Field. He admitted that he had been wearing his Lions apparel under his cheerleading uniform the entire time.
