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TCU
grad survives ‘The Apprentice’
Alumna
Amelia Henry prepares for the ultimate interview and hopes
for her dream job.
By
Julia Mae Jorgensen
Staff Reporter
They always tell you an MBA from the School of Business
will take you far, and for Amelia Henry that has proven
true.
Amelia, who goes by Amy, has taken her MBA straight to
Trump Tower competing with 16 other finalists for a one-year
contract as the president of a Donald Trump company in
NBC’s new reality show, “The Apprentice.”
“I have never auditioned for a show before and never
really been that interested in them because I don’t
watch television,” Henry said in an e-mail interview.
“But I really feel like it was fate.”
Henry, 30, graduated from TCU in 1995 and now works at
BetweenMarkets Inc., a start-up technology company in
Austin.
Originally from Arlington, Henry said landing a spot on
the show was a fluke.
“I was headed to Fort Worth to visit my brother who
just moved back to town and heard about the audition from
a friend,” she said. “I figured life is short
and this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, so why not?”
Henry spent part of the audition day sitting in a bar
and was then called in with 10 other applicants to answer
one question from the producer — What do you do when
you have an irrational boss?
Henry said the other applicants started talking about
doing whatever it took and doing anything to make their
boss happy, but she was quick to disagree.
“I finally had enough and said ‘Are you kidding
me?’ If nothing else, I think I at least earn respect
from my boss by challenging him when I don’t agree
with him,” she said.
Henry’s answer, which she said probably hinted at
a tendency for conflict, impressed the producer. She was
flown to Los Angeles within a few days and two months
later was living in Trump Tower in New York City.
Once in Trump Tower, the contestants split off into teams
of men versus women. The women named themselves Protégé
Corp. and the men named themselves Versacorp. Each week
“The Donald,” as Trump is called, assigned the
teams a new business venture. The team that is deemed
the winner of the event is safe from “firing”
for the week, while the losing team has to face “The
Donald” in the boardroom. Once inside the boardroom,
one member is “fired” and sent home.
Filming lasted 13 weeks and Henry is now back at her job
in Austin until the show is over. She is forbidden by
a confidentialty agreement to do any direct interviews
until she is fired, but was able to submit to this interview
with an NBC oversight.
Henry said that so far she does not have any special plans,
but hopes her time on the show will open new doors.
“I think that this should lead to some interesting
new opportunities for me that I wouldn’t have had
otherwise,” she said. “Think about it, when
does one have the chance to have a 13-week job interview
on national television in front of 20 million viewers?”
Henry also said that what she learned at TCU helped her
during the show.
“The MBA program at TCU is focused on building communication
skills and team skills in preparation for the real business
world,” she said. “But, one thing I didn’t
use much of is Power Point.” |
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Must
See TV
•
“The Apprentice” airs at 8 p.m. Thursdays
on NBC |
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