To those that don’t know him, senior John Herrick is regarded as a reserved soul; but those that call him “friend” know that his voice is heard around the world.

In his personal time, Herrick experiments with amateur or “ham” radio.  “What really got me interested in radio was listening to the radio traffic on the bus every day,” said Herrick.  “That was in 2005, when the bus radio system came up in the local towers.”

Herrick points out that many of his associates in the world of ham radio are more than 40 years his senior; but with a top-heavy age distribution a budding young operator can find mentors—or “Elmers”—in excess.  “A local guy invited me over to his ‘ham shack,’ where I first saw a ‘ham shack,’ and where I got to see a ‘network’—basically an on-the-air meeting of ham operators,” said Herrick.  Herrick considers that man, Fred Newman, his first mentor.

After falling in love with radio, Herrick decided to make his passion official.  “In 2011 I applied for my [radio] license, took the exam, passed, and have been having a lot of fun since,” said Herrick. 

Acquiring a license and becoming a certified “technician” opened the door to a world of possibilities, and Herrick began making a name for himself immediately, attending club meetings and contesting.  “Contesting is basically trying to communicate with as many stations as possible in an allotted amount of time,” said Herrick.  Contests all have different rules, some judging how far away of a signal an operator can pick up with specific wave strengths, others judging pure distance and number of stations.  In fact, Herrick notes, you don’t even have to be local to participate in a local contest.  “I’ve won a plaque from the California QSO party for being the top, non-Californian youth station.  The farthest contact I’ve made is Canberra, Australia,” said Herrick. 

Herrick makes clear that radio will be a lifelong hobby, and will likewise influence his career aspirations.  “I really enjoy ham radio.  It’s very technologically-driven, and so I’m looking to get into electrical engineering at Virginia Tech,” said Herrick.