Educator Everton Henriques, KD2ZZT, shared his experience using amateur radio to inspire students and bring engineering and technology to life in the classroom during his keynote at the 2026 ARRL New England Division Convention, hosted by Northeast HamXposition in Massachusetts on August 15. A video recording is available on ARRL’s YouTube channel.
Everton is an Engineering and Technology Teacher at Staten Island (NY) Technical High School. He has also participated in the ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology, a donor-funded professional development program he describes as “amazing week-long immersions in electronics, wireless technology, remote sensing, amateur radio, and curriculum development.”
In his presentation, Henriques describes how a high-altitude balloon project led to amateur radio, a student radio club, and an expanding program incorporating antenna building, transmitter hunting, robotics, solar power, mesh networking, HF communications, and more. His students have earned amateur radio licenses and applied their skills to robotics competitions, underwater ROVs (remotely operated vehicles), emergency communications, and a solar car that went on to earn awards in competition.
“We weren’t building solar cars, we weren’t building antennas, and we weren’t winning cheap trophies. We were building students. We were building engineers,” said Henriques. The presentation offers a compelling example of how ARRL and educators are working together to inspire youth and develop the next generation of radio amateurs.
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About ARRL®
ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® was founded in 1914 as The American Radio Relay League, and is a noncommercial organization of radio amateurs. ARRL’s mission is to promote and protect the art, science, and enjoyment of amateur radio, and to develop the next generation of radio amateurs. ARRL supports members with opportunities to discover radio, to develop new skills, and to serve their local communities. ARRL’s youth initiatives include programs to inspire students and advance STEM education through amateur radio, and to encourage pathways to higher education and careers in wireless communications and related technical fields. ARRL is also the Secretariat of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU). For more information about ARRL and amateur radio, visit www.arrl.org.
About the ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology
The ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology is a donor-funded professional development program designed to help classroom teachers elevate their STEM programs through the use of wireless technology. As a part of the ARRL Education & Technology Program, several sessions are conducted each year, and the program continues to grow. Teachers Institute educators participate in lectures, hands-on activities, and demonstrations so they can inspire their students through the use of tools and strategies to introduce basic electronics, radio science, antennas and radio frequency propagation, satellite communications, amateur radio, radio direction finding, weather science, microcontrollers, and remote sensors to their students. Teachers are provided with the equipment needed to take wireless technology to their classrooms.