[BC] Mentoring & encouraging Youth

[WFIFeng@aol.com]

In a message dated 02/05/2007 3:28:49 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
Xmitters at aol.com writes:

> I hope the young kids of today are treated well when they approach the 
> modern 
>  equipment vendors. That kid with messy hair and holes in his shirt today 
may 
>  very well be a DOE some time in the distant future :-) I'm glad for the 
>  privilege of a head start and that there were people available and willing 
> to encourage me. I hope all of us do what we can to encourage young people. 
> Does your receptionist just blow off calls from young kids that want to 
talk to the 
>  engineer, or do you take those calls?
>  (unfortunately, if your station is like mine, we never get kids calling 
here 
>  wanting to ask technical questions)

These are words of sage advice, indeed! :) When investing *anything* into the 
heart and mind of a child, you are sowing seeds for a potential future 
harvest of virtually unmeasurable bounty! The kid you touch today, may well become 
the irreplacable assistant you hire tomorrow!

Every now and then, we either get Homeshcoolers or Boy Scouts wanting a tour 
of the station. We are happy to accomodate them. At the end of the tour, I 
always have them stand just at the transmitter building door, while I open the 
phasor cabinet and hold a flourescent bulb near it... to have it light-up in my 
hand. The "Ooooh" 's! and "Ahhhh" 's  are priceless! :) I tell them to never 
underestimate the LIGHT side of the Force! ;) Then I shut it and come back out 
to explain (in layman's terms) what RF is, and why that happened. It always 
hold their attention... for a few minutes, at least! ;)

Since I've been doing that for at least the past 15 years... who knows how 
many kids were intrigued enough to start pursuing Electronics by now. I know I 
would have been totally mesmerized, had someone done such a thing when I was a 
kid! They wouldn't have been able to pull me away from the place with ropes! ;)

Actually, my first exposure to Broadcast Radio was at the studio end... which 
was still a very "magical" experience to a wide-eyed 10/11 year-old. :) 
Actually watching my favorite DJ doing the show I so loved listening to...  All 
those knobs, switches, and jiggling meters... I was smitten. The BEST thing they 
could have done, was let me "play" in their Production studio. Yes, imagine 
that... a medium-market station (pulled consistently in the top 3 of the Arbs!) 
letting a "kid" use the production studio to dub a few of his favorite songs 
to cassettes. (This was in the evening.) Man, I treasured those moments! 
30-plus years later, those memories are as fresh as yesterday! I still remember what 
the tape deck looked like, the speakers, the studio... wow. Talk about 
nostalgia! :) (The station was WICC. It's still there, but that studio site is long 
gone.)

I started pursuing Electronics at a very young age, and my parents did their 
best to encourage it. The above being part of it. I am glad for that. With the 
help of the Lord, of course, there are *so* many things in my past led me to 
where I am, today! CE and morning host on WFIF.

Whenever the opportunity presents itself to encourage a child, *do it*. :) 
You'll NEVER regret it!

Willie...