MY EXPERIENCE WITH BITA

Elliott Looney, of BITAz, discusses BITA’s impact

Where to start? At the very beginning

My name is Elliott Looney, I am 16 years old, currently a transition year student attending De La Salle College Chuchtown, and I am currently the youngest BITA board member and so to be a founding member of the board of BITAz. How did I get to where I am today?

It all started back in the early months of September 2020. When my father, Brendan, approached me with a proposition while I was just doing the usual bit of homework I had for school. At first, my dad briefly spoke to me about what the whole idea of BITA was about. A little confused, I kept listening, and my father then asked me if I would like to attend a board meeting of BITA. My father had known Paul Whitnell, our brilliant CEO, quite a long time (seemingly as they are both originally from the Cork, the Rebel county) and I with some thought grasped the opportunity and said “Why not”.

“Why not”

I am very happy I took that “why not”. The past few months with BITA have been unbelievable. From all the board meetings, the online events, the people that I have met, and most importantly, the debut launch of the BITAz initiative programme in my own school, the list of experiences goes on and on. I feel that I have accomplished so much with a plethora of many new people during my time with BITA. Probably my most evident and favourite experience with BITA is that of the BITAz initiative we launched in my school only a few months ago.

The transition years in my school were having their first week of work experience and due to covid-19, close to half the year had not managed to secure a real work placement. Seeing the opportunities, the BITAz initiative was born, and with the sheer dedication of BITA, we facilitated a week of work placement with a super interactive, fun, informative and intriguing online week based around the fundamentals of business and BITA. Each day was comprised of something new; one day allocated to the construction of an unforgettable CV, another dedicated to introducing BITA, and so on. We even invited the transition years to one of the online BITA Remo events, which was fantastic - I received so much positive feedback.

The experience I gained from that week I cannot begin to express. So many new encounters, new experiences, new feelings of fulfillment, so much of me has grown through all of my experience with BITA. See, as soon as I was immersed in the BITA environment, with all its members and all its community, I not only felt welcomed, but I felt like I was part of something bigger than me. Something that, not only, had the potential to blossom in all its aspirations that it continues to pursue, but as something that, I myself, could help pioneer and propel into the future of all our generations.

What BITA means to me

Through the past few months, through countless emails, and many zoom calls, I haven’t only learned about what it’s like to be in that working environment, but I have lived and become what BITA truly is. And to sound as non-cliché as possible, to me BITA isn’t just a non-profit organization, it isn’t just the service it provides, BITA is a community. One of the most important and inviting characteristics of BITA, that always continues to draw me in, is the complete and utter passion of every member. The passion and emotional effort that everyone gives is not just mindblowing, but heartfelt. All the dedicated BITA members, without fail, put all their effort, give all their very best, to continue to grow BITA as far and as much as it can go. My experience with BITA has changed my life. I have improved in confidence, my speech, conversation and leadership skills, my attributes, everything. And especially in a time like this, I am so grateful for having the opportunity to join such a great community. A community that always commits to its values first, is willing to always go the extra mile to get things right and is always true to its nature. A community that I am grateful to be part of, and that I hope you can be too.