I really didn't have much the chance to talk to Cade, but I was really impressed how motivated and I realized he was there to make the most out of it. I spoke briefly to Dr. Amy Patillo (great person!), whom I thought was related to him. Still I had no clue about the 4-H program. Something do get lost in translation.
Cade, I'm going to start with a question I don't usually ask in an interview. How old are you?
I'm 15. It feels good to be the youngest person here. I've been talking to a lot of older people and it's good for business opportunities.
How did you get started with Joomla, and what do you like to do with it?
I like to build websites a lot. My local 4-H group holds a teen conference every year. Amy Patillo was teaching a class in web development and film, which I like a lot, so I checked it out. She showed us what Joomla is and how to use it. She was impressed when she saw how much I knew, and when I got up in in the middle of her class and went around helping people who were having trouble. And that's how I 'm here!
Missouri is quite a long way from from San Jose – how did you end up at the Joomla World Conference?
It took a lot of sponsoring and a lot of plane flights. This is my first time to California.
Have you liked the sessions? What is your favorite part of the conference so far?
Very much! The JWC is very interesting. I'm learning things I never thought about, like cool things you can do with modules.
My favorite part so far is meeting so many people and the fact that they are helping me with my website and giving me opportunities. They are making me feel so welcomed. I've been talking a lot to Christopher from Joomlashack and he set me up with a lifetime Joomlashack University subscription for free.
I heard that you may have found a summer job through someone you met here – can you tell me about that?
Oliver from MetaScale was talking to me and we exchanged business cards. I need to hear more about it but I would love to have a summer job!
When you get home what are you going to be working on – have you gotten any new ideas from being at this conference?
I'll be working on my personal website, and I am going to start a business by the time I'm 20 or 18. I need to plan my business. I have a lot of people to help me now, and I can learn from their experience.
On Sunday, Cade and Amy Patillo led a session on "Sparking Youth Development with Joomla! CMS and 4H":
Dr. Amy Patillo is a 4-H youth specialist at the University of Missouri where she is involved in teaching entrepreneurship and youth leadership activity. The goal is to get kids involved locally and globally. Her motto is "Join my revolution of responsibility".
4-H clubs started in the early twentieth century, when universities tried sharing research with farmers to help improve agricultural techniques. The university extension specialists found that the children of the farmers were more receptive than the farmers themselves to learning about new developments and putting them into practice. One of the goals of 4-H today is to connect kids with the local university and encourage them to go to college.
As they wrapped up their session, Cade shared these closing remarks:
I'm starting to learn PHP and MySQL. All the things you need to know to be successful. I think this will be a career.
The easiest thing about being here has been asking other people for help and sharing ideas. And the hardest thing is to see a cool website and want to know immediately how do I do that???
I didn't think this would ever happen. I'm so glad to have this opportunity. I was just following instructions and having fun. A motto we have in my family is "go above and beyond." That's what I'm trying to do.
] even with those words of encouragement, I still feel that Cade is one special young man who has a done quite a bit and for whom so many doors are opening and I wish him the best!
