Surprisingly, most high school students would prefer not to spend their weekends in the basements (granted, basements furnished nicely with radios and, hopefully, amplifiers) of hams who will spend a full 48 hours staring at a radio and intensely exchanging their signal reports and locations.
At least that’s kind of the impression I got when I came back to school the Monday morning after the CQ World Wide CW contest. One of my friends met me with something to this effect: “I saw your Instagram post this morning and was kind of concerned…until I remembered that you’re just weird and have nerd hobbies.”
Comments like this are definitely not new for me. They have really just become more and more entertaining since I started hearing them from classmates. These judgments and misunderstandings aside, amateur radio has had the most profound impact on my life of anything that I’ve been involved with, and I wouldn’t trade those contest weekends for anything. (Even a chance to be popular—or at least a little less weird—amongst my peers.)
Amateur radio has given me, and countless other young people, the opportunity to be a part of a community where we’ve been able to meet friends and mentors, have a platform to advocate for ourselves and the things that we care about, and to seek educational opportunities and guidance.
Amateur radio gives young people a platform to talk about things they feel strongly about (particularly within radio-related subjects), which is an incredibly valuable aspect of the hobby. The opportunities to present to an audience—large or small—are seemingly endless, such as youth forums at various hamfests around the country, podcasts, roundtable groups on YouTube or other streaming platforms, and writing about our experiences.
Various groups are always looking for a young person to share their amateur radio perspectives. By taking part in these groups and the opportunities they provide, young people are not only given a chance to refine their public speaking skills, they are learning to effectively communicate with a diverse audience. Regardless of the differences that those in the audience may have from each other, we realize that people can be brought together by something as small as a hobby.
On the note of amateur radio bringing people together, the hobby is a great place for young people to form connections with operators their own age as well as older hams. At this point (six years into my amateur radio career), the vast majority of my closest friends are hams. These friendships have taught me an abundance of lessons on nearly every topic imaginable, ranging from things about cultures and languages to how to improve my soldering and Morse code skills. They tend to be the most worthwhile friendships that I build regardless of how challenging they can be to start and maintain.
In addition to making friends through ham radio, the hobby has also introduced me to many of my mentors and people I look up to both professionally and as humans. While a significant portion of the advice I receive from these individuals is in regard to school and academics, they also offer an almost overwhelming wealth of knowledge on radio-related subjects. Nearly everyone that I’ve met has not only been willing to share their knowledge and expertise with me but is excited to do so.
Amateur radio fosters an environment where learning never stops, and the opportunity to be a part of a community like this is invaluable, particularly for young people who are more familiar with a culture of learning to do well on paper through test grades and activity involvement rather than learning for the fun of it.
Looking back at some of the interactions that I’ve had with my non-ham peers, I’ve realized how much amateur radio has shifted the way I think, communicate, and live my life. It has inspired me to take chances, put myself out there for every opportunity possible, and to be more aware of those around me. At the end of the day, it’s impossible think of everything that amateur radio does for the young people who enjoy the hobby, and I speak for all young hams when I say that amateur radio is an incredible place for a young person to be—the positive impacts it has on our lives are innumerable.
I am confident that as the amateur radio community continues to expand and flourish, it will continue to be a place where young people can meet amazing people and find guidance.
