WQ2N Paul Whitman
Team: Youth Team
Country: USA
Age: 22
Occupation: Graduate Student, Seton Hall University (Diplomacy and International Relations)
WQ2N Paul Whitman
I have been licensed since November 2004 when I was 13 years old. Previously, I helped my Dad in contesting, motivated him in contests by looking for multipliers, and listening to him work DX stations. Operating in the Kid’s Day contest encouraged me to get my own license. I acquired my general license two months later in January 2005 and my first contact was with EM1HO in Antarctica. I upgraded to Extra class, passing the 5WPM test. I never thought I would operate CW, but other FRC contesters and local hams encouraged me and now I operate almost exclusively CW, but still operate RTTY and SSB as well.
One of my dreams came true when my family traveled to the Bahamas in 2006 and I operated with a DX callsign. I contacted Johnny LA5IIA in Afghanistan, whom I was fond of his profession. He encouraged me to get me in the right path of what I wanted to do, which was help the world. When Johnny finished his tour in Afghanistan with UNICEF, he invited me to the UN HQ in New York. I got a tour of the UN and got to operate the 4U1UN station. I was invited back to take part in the 4U1UN CQWW SSB and pre-contest operation by Martii, OH2BH and crew in October 2009 as the representation of youth participation.
I attended Elizabethtown College for a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science with minors in Peace and Conflict Studies and International Relations. I am working toward my Masters at Seton Hall University. I played NCAA DIII tennis at Elizabethtown and set the school record for wins. I also began playing club volleyball.
I am looking forward to WRTC2014 because I want to show everyone that there are many great young contesters around the world and that the hobby is still well and alive. Hopefully our participation and effort will motivate other young contesters to achieve greatness in contesting. I am looking forward to learning many tricks from many experienced contesters to improve my skills as well.