A SARC Basic Course Retrospective

A Message From A Successful Teen Ham

Hello, readers. I’m Samantha, I’m sixteen years old, and this May I got my amateur radio basic license - with honours, too. Finally entering the world of amateur radio came with a lot of passion, learning, and a bit of studying, and having a gate wide open to another enormous world of learning is perhaps one of the things about having a license I’m most excited about. Though I’m proud about my achievement, I have to thank Surrey Amateur Radio Communications Basic radio course for my success.

Sammi and Member of Parliament Sukh Dhaliwal
at Field Day 2016

SARC sets up a course so amateurs-to-be can prepare for their license test. It went through all the topics we needed, through on-air etiquette and the long list of laws, among more interesting things like electric theory and propagation (man, those are fascinating topics). However, what I appreciated most in the course was the caring environment, where asking questions, talking with others, and even joking around a little is perfectly normal. 

I felt very welcome in the class – though being the only girl in the class was a little disappointing – and I especially want to thank John VE7TI, Stan VA7NF, and John VA7XB for all being incredibly knowledgeable, kind, and personable. It helps when a learning environment is friendly; I don’t think I could learn if it isn’t. In fact, it’s wonderful that amateur radio in general is so friendly to everyone.

Noah, age 13, a graduate of our Fall 2019 course,
at 27 students, our largest class ever.
His dad [right] who also graduated from this class,
and one of the instructors John VE7TI

See, the thing about the world of amateur radio is that it’s just so big. If you don’t like one aspect of it, there’s going to be another that piques your interest. Plus, it’s not just a hobby for one type of person or one type of community. Anyone, and yes, I mean anyone, can get a license. Doesn’t matter if you’re old or young, male, female, neither, or both; what matters is that amateur radio is interesting to you, even if it’s just digital radio or only using a phone mode. My hope is that other teens like me discover this community and, like me, fall in love with it and all it has to offer, because this world isn’t dying. As long as we’re around, we’ll make sure to let it thrive.

~ Samantha VA7HBE

Our next course starts February 25, 2020 at 6:30pm

For more information email: course@ve7sar.net