By Tim Anderson
Towson University senior Juliet O’Connor never thought of herself as a highly competitive person. Yet, she still needed to tell why she was the ideal candidate.
“I am the perfect blend of imagination and planning,” she said.
In front of a crowd gathered in a Stephens Hall boardroom recently, O’Connor remained calm as she delivered a speech to the interim provost of Towson, the dean of the College of Business, and the chief operating officer and president of 1st Mariner Bank – all of whom were there to judge her.
“You should have seen me before [the speech],” said O’Connor, a business administration major with a concentration in marketing. “I was freaking out.”
O’Connor is a participant in the 11th annual The Associate program, a six-week competition modeled after Donald Trump’s popular reality television show, “The Apprentice.”
Eight graduating seniors from the College of Business compete for a chance to work at 1st Mariner Bank, which is sponsoring this year’s event.
The students are chosen from a pool of applicants and split into two teams. Each week, the contestants are given a case study by a local business and asked to return the next week to present their findings, suggestions and possible solutions.
After their presentations, one team is chosen as the winner for that week, and a member of the losing team hears the words now synonymous with the competition: “You’re fired.”
While each contestant views the associate position with 1st Mariner Bank as the gold medal in the competition, many entered in hopes of gaining valuable experience.
“I really wanted to work on my presentation skills,” said Manie Greene, a finance major at Towson. Greene said she was a little nervous on the opening day of the competition when she had to give the speech.
“I was just telling myself to calm down and think of it more as a conversation,” she said.
During her introductory speech, Greene argued that her motivation is what makes her a favorite competitor in The Associate. “I believe my wanting to gain knowledge really makes me want to share that with others,” Greene said.
Anne Rubin, a marketing and e-business major, also believes that she possesses the qualities needed to win the competition. Unlike most of the other candidates, Rubin has had experience in case competitions, but she says that experience does not necessarily put her ahead of the others.
“I remember the first week listening to all the speeches, I was just amazed by how much everyone has done,” said Rubin, who is the president of Towson’s chapter of the American Marketing Association and a founding member of a student-run theater group. She said the real world experience that others in the competition have is just as valuable as her previous work in competitions.
Rubin, who said she finds enjoyment from charity work, is most proud of an event she organized called “The 9/11 Day of Service.” Rubin, who has organized the event the last three years, helped to make nearly 2,500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for seven different local non-profits in their quest to feed the homeless.
As for the competition, Rubin believes her range of talents is a key reasons why she should win.
“I not only [make] sure everything is organized and on point, but I also have a creative side that I can bring to a company,” Rubin said.
While O’Connor is also striving for the position at 1st Mariner, she was able to remain calm during her speech by reminding herself why she was there.
“Ultimately, I just felt like it was a competition and if I didn’t win it wouldn’t be the biggest deal,” she said.
After O’Connor and the other competitors introduced themselves on opening night, a representative from Port Deposit, Maryland, took the floor to present the groups with their first case.
“We have a lot of potential,” said Vicky Rinkerman, the town administrator. “We are just looking for that tipping point.”