I'm 19 and I'm really interested in doing systems-level work in either C or, more recently, I've been looking at Erlang. I'm just picking stuff up on my own.
The thing is, I don't know any professional programmers. I don't really have any idea how one finds a mentor. I don't know who I should contact. If anyone knows someone who might be interested in this kind of relationship, my contact info is in my profile.
Colleges are obvious hotspots for this sort of activity, but also consider approaching some local tech companies for possible internships (even if they aren't looking for any). Seek out people online and get in touch with them. Most of them are quite friendly and will usually be happy to help any way they can.
Lastly, get involved in some open source projects. Sometimes, finding a smaller project with fewer contributors will give you the opportunity to build a relationship with them. Generally, contributing to open source projects will give you easy, real-world experience without any of the overhead/commitment of having a job or internship.
If you're interested in moving to South Florida, I know a few internship opportunities that I could point you toward as well that would be right up your alley!
I'm not a developer so I don't think I would be a good mentor for you. However, if you ever want someone to bounce business/marketing stuff off, I'm always happy to help. @daniellicht