Milhaus Hires 2012 Orr Fellow, Branden Burke

In 2002, Governor Bob Orr started an initiative to retain the talent graduating from Indiana colleges. Statistics showed that, although Indiana had one of the highest college graduation numbers in the country, the majority were moving on to bigger and better opportunities in other cities. According to an article in the IBJ, “the migration of young college graduates from the Hoosier State — often referred to as the "brain drain” — is a pattern that economic development experts, area employers and politicians are working to reverse.“ The Orr Fellowship matches graduating students with high-profile startup companies in Indianapolis for two-year working fellowships. The Fellowship Board does most of the work screening college seniors and pairing them up with suitable opportunities. The companies themselves then interview and select candidates who will fit their business culture.

This year, Milhaus began its involvement with the Orr Fellowship both as a community building effort and as a way to locate prospective employees. Tadd Miller, CEO of Milhaus, says, “It has always been our priority to build the highest caliber team in the market and the Orr Fellowship is a collection of high capacity talent that matches our core customer base, energy level, and creative thinking; all elements we think are key to our future success. The majority of our customers are Millennials, just like the graduates of the Orr Fellowship, so harnessing their perspective is crucial. Now we have actual consumers of our product helping to create and manage it, a real advantage to ensuring we meet customer expectations.”

Just recently, Milhaus took under its wing its first two Orr Fellows: Louisville native, Caitlin Hickey, a recent graduate of DePauw University who majored in Economics, and Kevin Stewart from Cincinnati who studied Civil Engineering and Economics at the University of Notre Dame. Both will be working with Milhaus for the next two years gaining experience in mixed use development.

During interviews for their first fellowship candidates, Milhaus also scored another big win by hiring recent Orr Fellowship Alum, Branden Burke who completed his fellowship in 2014. Burke graduated from Purdue University in 2012 with a degree in Building Construction Management. “Coming out of college, I knew I could take advantage of a pretty well-defined career path in the construction industry, "says Burke, "but I wanted to experience something new, to create my own path and set myself apart from my peers. I knew the Orr Fellowship was a risk, but a gamble worth taking. The first few years out of college are the best time to take risks and get out of your comfort zone. Now, after my two years, I am back in the industry in a way I never knew existed or thought imaginable.”

During the two years of Burke’s fellowship with a global technology and supply chain services company, he gained experience in marketing, business development, project management and large facility real estate. “In my experience,” says Burke, “the companies that hire Orr Fellows try to give them the kind of work experience they are craving.” Burke was completing the program when he was introduced to Milhaus through a friend who sits on the Board of the Orr Fellowship. He explains, “When I met Tadd, Andy and Jeremy, we hit it off right away. Milhaus’ culture felt like a perfect fit for me. It was a smaller company, which is exactly what I was looking for. I appreciate the mentorship and support that affords. If I need something or have questions, there is always someone there to help. That kind of willingness and openness excites me. I think it allows for more opportunity to explore what people can actually bring to the table.”