Colby was raised in Kenosha, WI. He received his B.S degree in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin – Platteville. There he was introduced to polymer chemistry research in the lab of Prof. Soma Chattopadhyay. He worked on polyelectrolyte multilayer nanofilms distribution while fixing a custom-made instrument used for research. During that time, he was a manager at Walmart and worked in construction. He joined the Gentry lab in November 2022 and became the “fix it” dude. Outside of lab, he spends time with his dog Draco, builds from wood/metal, cooks, and goes out with friends.