Proctor Alumni: Geo Baker ‘17 & Caleb Green ‘17: Teammates for Life

Additional alumni profiles will be published in the 2025 Magazine, available the last week of November. In the meantime, we will continue to share select profiles from the 2024 Proctor Magazine.

In the winter of 2014, Caleb Green ‘17 was looking for opportunities to expand his basketball opportunities and was introduced to then head coach Gregor Makechnie ‘91 by his mentors TJ and Ilima Thomson. 

Caleb decided to apply to Proctor for the 2014-2015 academic year and began his journey as a student and two-sport impact athlete (soccer and basketball). A year later, his lifelong friend and AAU teammate, Geo Baker ‘17, followed suit, teaming up with Caleb on the basketball court (and soccer field), leading the Hornets to a NEPSAC AA semi-final appearance in 2017. Since their graduation in 2017, Geo and Caleb have remained close friends, supporting each other through highly successful college basketball careers (Caleb at College of Holy Cross and Fairfield University and Geo at Rutgers University), and have once again teamed up on the basketball court, focusing on youth development and mentorship.

Where has your professional journey led you since college?

Caleb: After earning a degree in business and my MBA at Fairfield University, I started a career in commercial real estate for a small firm based in New York City. In addition to my work in real estate, I train boys and girls in basketball alongside Geo. One thing that is very important to me is always giving back to the communities I am, or have been, a part of. My mentors changed my life on and off the court through the sport of basketball, and they didn't have to do what they did for me, but they chose to. I hope to be an important part of the community for the kids we train and I love that I get to see these players grow on the court and as people, and hope to keep doing this alongside Geo for as long as we can. 

Geo: College was a continuation of what I experienced at Proctor. I was on full scholarship in the Big Ten at Rutgers University, and at that level, everyone expects you to be about basketball all the time, but I found other interests such as music and business. During my 4th year I openly spoke out against the NCAA for the unfair treatment of college athletes not being able to be paid off our name, image, and likeness. After the NIL rules changed, I found success branding myself as a business and creating opportunities through NIL. Once my college playing career was over, I realized that I no longer wanted to continue playing and found joy in trying to help other people realize their potential. Whether that be on the court or off the court. This led to me starting two businesses: GB Go Beyond, a basketball training operation, which also has a 501c3 arm, The Geo Baker Go Beyond Foundation, and The Knight Society, a NIL collective for Rutgers student athletes. 

How have you stayed connected since your time at Proctor?

Caleb: Geo and I have a lot in common, from where we grew up (Londonderry/Derry, New Hampshire) to our experiences on the court in high school and college, to our ideas and goals in life. We called one another quite a bit since our time at Proctor, processing life, basketball, and where we wanted our professional lives to go. Most of all, we have always checked up on each other and been a support for each other. 

Geo: Through a lot of trial and error I’ve found in business it’s always best to surround yourself with people who you can really trust. Caleb and I have been friends since the 4th grade so it was a no brainer to have him be a part of both of these start-ups. It started out with me calling Caleb almost every day whether it was asking for advice, asking about what he was doing professionally, or just talking about whatever we had going on that day. I eventually convinced Caleb to move to New Jersey and be a part of everything I was building. It was a no brainer on the basketball side of things as we learned from the same mentor and did the same exact drills growing up. On the business side, Caleb is one of the most organized and motivated individuals I’ve ever come across, which made it easy for us to work together. Any business or investment idea one of us has, we always run it past each other. I think it’s been great for the two of us to have each other just to bounce ideas off of/ learn from. 

What were some of the highlights of your Proctor experience? 

Caleb: The people were the highlight of my Proctor experience by far. There were so many adults with different experiences who were all in your corner and wanted to see you succeed both in school and life. I had a very good advisor and, obviously, love sports so, for me, the people who had the most impact on me were my coaches Gregor, Scott (Allenby), Ben (Bartoldus), Junior (de la Hoz), and Ian (Hamlet), as well as my advisor, Mark Tremblay. The adults at Proctor are working with you instead of just telling you what to do from a place of authority. You can see this in the way that everyone on campus is on a first name basis; it creates a whole different dynamic between teacher and student where you begin to learn how to ask for help, advocate for yourself, and, in turn, do your part to help a team, cultivate good relationships with those around you, and learn to address and handle conflict with people who are older, more experienced, and in a position of authority…all things you have to do in life to be successful. 

Geo: The basketball experience is probably the most obvious answer as being able to compete in the NEPSAC against so many high caliber basketball players was both fun and rewarding. But it was all the other experiences that helped me grow - beginning with our Wilderness Orientation trip for new students. I’m not an outdoors person at all, and that was something new and challenging for me. Experiences like that only continued - open ice skating in The Ted, playing for the varsity soccer team, polar swims, and so on. When I arrived at Proctor, I think I strictly viewed myself as a basketball player. By the time I left I realized there was a lot more to my identity, and that it is good to explore all the different sides we have as people. 

What advice would you share with current Proctor students?

Caleb: Take advantage of the uniqueness of Proctor. One of my biggest regrets is not spending a term off-campus on Proctor en Segovia. If you are curious about any of the programs Proctor offers you, try them because you won't experience anything like it afterward. I would also advise students to make as many connections with as many people as possible. People and relationships are the most important part to living a successful and happy life. You need to be able to form and maintain connections with people in all realms of life and learning to navigate relationships with all types of people is one of the best skills a person can have. Reach out, introduce yourself, and have conversations you wouldn't normally have, especially when they might feel uncomfortable. 

Geo: Try as many weird things as you can and cherish every relationship you make, and then keep in contact with those people. You can’t do big things alone so find people with the same mindset as you and keep those people close. Enjoy the ups and downs of life because there is so much that is outside our control - don’t even try to control it.

In 20 years, what impact do you hope you can say you've had on others through your work and the life you have lived? 

Caleb: I would love to be able to say that I helped create a community that helped young men and women reach their goals in life through whatever channels they choose. I hope I am successful enough and experienced enough to use the knowledge and wisdom that comes from those things to help guide others in similar positions to be successful.

Geo: Both Caleb and I were both extremely fortunate to have TJ and Ilima Thompson in our lives. They did everything from basketball training to giving us rides, to feeding us, to teaching us about life. You name it, they did it. The Geo Baker Go Beyond Foundation was created to try to mimic all the things our mentors did for us. On the surface it looks like we just had a basketball trainer, but what they did for us goes so far beyond basketball that it’s honestly hard to put into words. The impact I hope I can have is to just do the same that TJ and Ilima did for me.

Click Here to Read the 2024 Proctor Magazine