BitWise Fellows in the News!

BitWise Taps Indiana’s Most Underutilized Resource

By Lindsey Brown
From Indiana Charter Schools Today

On any given weekday afternoon, one could expect to find most high school students heading home from school for a lazy afternoon, off to a popular local hangout to see friends, or maybe even en route to their part-time job; (most likely at a local eatery or retail store). Not Joshua Cunningham. No, Josh Is too busy running a small business. Cunningham is Founding President of BitWise Fellows, a local business comprised solely of high school students providing affordable web site solutions to the Indianapolis area. Not only does Cunningham have a resume more impressive than many college grads, but he’s also gained valuable real-world experience working in business, which he hopes to study in college and ultimately have a career. Cunningham oversees the day to day operations of the company, including marketing, sales, and staff recruitment and hiring. BitWise Fellows is the brainchild of Ron Brumbarger, the CEO and President of BitWise Solutions, a leading Indiana web design Company, whose staff mentors the Fellows. Brumbarger saw the need for community organizations and non-profits to be able to access affordable web services. He has achieved this while providing high school students with invaluable business experience. Now in its second year, BitWise employs five Fellows and are currently seeking to add more. “They have real contracts, real payroll, real deadlines, and most importantly, real opportunities,” comments Brumbarger. Fellowships in the areas of marketing sales, projects management, finance, design, and more are available to prospective candidates. Cunningham adds, “Many of the Fellows employees are currently working in those positions that they are interested in pursuing as a professional career. This is a great way for them to gain that job experience.”

BitWise Fellows is part of a trend which many area charter schools are following- real world training. The Indianapolis Metropolitan High School uses internships (often during the school day) to connect their curriculum with real world experience. Other organizations like Indiana InternNet, a program adopted by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce connects Indiana employers with area high school and college students to provide guided internships and help retain Indiana’s talent. All recognize that we have a responsibility to prepare Indiana’s students for their best possible futures.

There’s a ton of talent in Indiana high schools, just waiting to be discovered. As BitWise fellows demonstrates, who better to provide cutting-edge web design, then a staff of creative high school students who’ve grown up in a technology dominated era? Maybe BitWise is onto something here. Look at Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg, who launched the social network venture out of his Harvard dorm room. Or Michael Dell who began selling PCs out of his University of Texas dorm. Facebook and Dell are now household names.

They’re young. They’re smart. And they’re eager to earn business. Watch out folks-we may just have some competition on our hands... Is it to late for a retraction?