Subj : Cal Poly Amateur Radio Club achieves 2,000th License Milestone
To   : QST
From : ARRL de WD1CKS
Date : Tue Jun 20 2023 05:18 pm

06/20/2023

Student-run Cal Poly Amateur Radio Club (CPARC)[1] at California Polytechnic
State University in San Luis Obispo County just hit a licensing milestone. On
May 23, 2023, Kyle Wiens became the 2,000th person to pass the amateur radio
exam given by CPARC since they started in 2009.

Wiens, now KO6ABA, is a Cal Poly alumnus and CEO of iFixit, a company that
produces electronics repair guides for consumers. After learning about the
approaching landmark, Wiens expressed immediate interest in being that 2,000th
licensee.

Weins and several interested members of the iFixit staff took a course from
CPARC officers Mathew Shaham, KM6WIU, and Hunter Herring-Alderete, KN6RJA. Then
they took an exam.

The session had 28 applicants and was the largest group of the year held by
CPARC's Volunteer Examiners. Alumnus Marcel Stieber, AI6MS, served as session
liaison and worked closely with student lead Andrew Fahey, KN6FIJ, to
coordinate the exam.

CPARC uses an accelerated course licensing technique that became popular
through Dr. Dennis Derickson's, AC0P, Freshman Licensing Initiative which
started in 2011. Up until 2022, when the FCC began issuing a fee for new
licenses, the initiative provided class credit in the introductory course,
Electrical Engineering E-111, for obtaining an amateur radio license.

The effort gave new electrical engineering students a preview of topics covered
in further classes. It also afforded students a practical outlet for skills
like radio contesting and volunteering as communications support for events. At
the peak of the initiative, CPARC was licensing more than 100 operators in one
50-minute class period.

"It's a big milestone. Most exam teams don't make it to license number 2,000.
I'm really proud to support the students running these exam sessions," Stieber
said after the exam session. As the last papers were graded, the majority of
student applicants passed in addition to every member of the iFixit crew.


[1] https://www.w6bhz.org/

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