Competition loosely based on "The Apprentice"
Thissummer eight undergraduate Marriott School students will intern with keyindustry companies after winning the school’s second annual Intern Competition —an event sponsored by the Marriott Undergraduate Student Association at Brigham Young University.
“An internship is a great opportunity to learn thelingo of business and figure out if that is really what you like,” says Andy Emory,one of last year’s winners who interned with Sperry Van Ness Equities. “Myinternship last summer prepared me for a job after graduation and increased mymarketability with employers.”
This year’s winning students accepted internships withcompanies in their fields of study — Clayton Wyatt, San Diego, and BenSycamore, Thousand Oaks, Calif., both with Core Realty; Greg Schulz, Alberta, Canada, and Trent Hope, Temecula, Calif., with Millenniata; JordanGlazier, Orem, Utah, and Derek Brown, Beaverton, Ore., with SperryVan Ness Equities; Brad Schramm, Los Almos, N.M., with Ossola WealthManagement; and Bruce Hymas, St. George, Utah, with CEOBuilder.
Loosely based on the television show “The Apprentice,”The Intern Competition was initiated last year by the Marriott School undergraduatemanagement advisory board to promote internships. In an effort to find the topcandidates, the 36 student applicants were required to complete differenttasks, some of which included researching companies and interviewing withmembers of the advisory board.
“The competition provides students with learningexperiences as part of the application process,” says Kristen McGregor, undergraduateprogram coordinator. “Researchinga company is something you should always do when applying for a position, butthe requirement to speak with someone who has experience in the field provides areally good opportunity for students to network.”
Eighteen finalists presented a one-minute pitch ofthemselves and their qualifications during the final selection event. Afteranswering a probing question from the judges, finalists were rated on a 10-pointscale, with the possibility of earning a total of 30 points.The final presentation was just one of the factors inchoosing the winners. In addition, the finalists were evaluated on individualinterviews, past experiences, possible contribution to the companies, personaldrive and attitude.
“Havingto present and answer personal questions in front of a crowd was morechallenging than I anticipated, but the internship was worth it,” Brown says. “Iknow this internship is really going to put my education into practical terms. WhenI come back to school in the fall, I will be a better contributor in my classesbecause of the real-world experience I had during my internship.”
Writer: Irasema Romero
