I got into ham radio when I was 15, before that I was fascinated with CB radio, FRS/GMRS, DXing distant AM/FM stations, and radio scanning. I also played a lot

I got into ham radio when I was 15, before that I was fascinated with CB radio, FRS/GMRS, DXing distant AM/FM stations, and radio scanning. I also played a lot of video games and texted nonstop, built and fixed PCs for my friends, played in the school band, cherished my first car, had girlfriends and breakups, like a normal kid. I'm 28 now, and it's basically the reason for my career. So to "pay it forward," advocating for youth in ham radio has turned into my (very unpaid) side hustle. The current run of leading amateur radio organizations are aged, and more-or-less self serving the older demographic. I'm not sure if ham radio just was and always will be an old persons hobby, or if younger people can enjoy it too. Right now I help run a ham radio club for youth (https://yarc.world/ https://yarc.world/), with a 1300-member young hams discord server (https://discordapp.com/invite/E7GY7fR https://discordapp.com/invite/E7GY7fR), as well as a youth advocacy organization named Youth on the Air (https://youthontheair.org https://youthontheair.org) that will be running a summer camp for 30 young hams from North and South America at the Voice of America museum in Cincinnati, OH.