Project reaches out to students
By Sean Hao
Advertiser Staff Writer
William Fuller, a senior at Campbell High School, learned an important lesson during an internship at software developer CTA. Working on a Web site and dealing with budgets and deadlines helped clarify his career choice.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
"It made me realize I want to be the boss, not one of the lower people," said Fuller, who now plans to run his own Web site and database development business.
William Fuller, a Campbell High School senior, works with a computer operation that he developed as an internship at CTA, a software developer. CTA president Jeff Bloom is helping coordinate a new mentoring program for teens.
Government and business leaders yesterday launched a statewide effort to get more high school students like Fuller interested in business.
Dubbed Business and Youth Working Together, the initiative is intended to make various youth mentoring and internship programs easily accessible through one Web site at www.bywt.org. They hope the project will increase cooperation between businesses and schools, said Jeff Bloom, president of CTA and one of the project coordinators.
"There is a definite disconnect in the state" between schools and the business community, Bloom said. "This will be the clearinghouse to (bridge) that."
The Web site, due to be finished in May, will give space to nonprofit organizations and schools to list descriptions of work they need done. Businesses can then select projects they want to participate in and can contact interested students online or through teachers and guidance counselors. Students can work on specific projects or intern with companies. Jobs vary from construction to high-tech.
The goal is to get 400 students enrolled in summer work projects. Bloom's CTA typically hosts about 25 interns a year.
The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism and the Department of Education are involved in the program, which will be administered by Enterprise Honolulu. Mike Fitzgerald, president and chief executive of Enterprise Honolulu, said classroom education cannot substitute for real-world, hands-on business experience.
Businesses that give students that opportunity will ultimately benefit from high school graduates who are better prepared to succeed in the workplace, he said. At the same time, students will be exposed to a wider range of career opportunities, helping to fuel Hawai'i's entrepreneurial climate.
"Businesses are going to be where there are smart people and where there are innovative people," Fitzgerald said. "Education is not enough. Only a practical experience accomplishes that.
Daniel Davenport, a senior at Kalani High School, spent Saturdays last spring working at CTA to develop a newsletter distribution Web site. This spring he's helping the company launch the Business and Youth Working Together Web site. Such internships benefit both businesses and students, Davenport said.
"They get a real product by teaching students," he said. "What the students get is an education within the framework of a business environment."
Businesses interested in participating in Business and Youth Working Together can call Jane Yamashiro at Enterprise Honolulu at 521-3611, ext. 14.
Reach Sean Hao at 525-8093 or shao@honoluluadvertiser.com.
