Stephen "Woz" Wozniak was born on August 11, 1950, in San Jose, California. He grew up in Sunnyvale, California, which is located in the Santa Clara Valley. This area became a center of high-technology research and development in the 1950s and 1960s and acquired the nickname, Silicon Valley. Wozniak's father was an aerospace engineer at Lockheed.
Although Wozniak shared the same interests as other young boys when he was growing up, he also took an early interest in electronics and computers. He read books and magazines about computer innovations, software programs, and electronic products. At age 11 or 12 he built his own amateur "ham" radio and earned an operator's license. As a teenager he designed computers and software programs, although he couldn't afford to make any of the designs a reality.
Wozniak also designed and built a variety of electronic gadgets, some of them for science fairs, others for his own personal use. His ability to create electronic inventions earned him the nickname, "Woz the Wiz." The "Woz" nickname has stuck with him throughout his life.
After graduating from Cupertino's Homestead High School in 1968, Wozniak attended the University of Colorado at Boulder for one year. He then returned to Sunnyvale and began working as a programmer for a small computer company. Although his electronics and computer projects kept him busy, he did not abandon college altogether. After taking some classes at a local community college, he transferred to the University of California at Berkeley to continue his engineering studies.
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