team trump is hired in first-ever 'Lion's Apprentice' competition

The verdict is in—Dave Boudwin and Loren Slack have been “hired.”  Boudwin and Slack, or 'Team Trump,' are the first winners of The College of New Jersey’s “Lion’s Apprentice.”  After the grueling seven-week competition that mimicked NBC’s hit show "The Apprentice," Team Trump’s business savvy has won them the grand prize of $1,000. 

The near two-month competition included challenges such as decorating dorm rooms on a $100 budget, creating a themed dinner for Eickhoff Dining Hall, designing a marketing plan for the Mercer County Chamber of Commerce, and selling tickets to a Trenton Thunder baseball game.  Team Trump and Team Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) were tied after the final challenge, but Trump edged out PBL after the judges considered the teams’ overall performances in addition to the tally of wins and losses. 

Boudwin, a senior business major, and Slack, junior accounting major, had to overcome difficulties early on in the competition.  Both entered as individual competitors and were later paired by the judges for the remainder of the competition.  Through the course of the weekly challenges, the pair grew from strangers, to partners, to friends.  Slack and Boudwin agreed that the greatest lessons they learned were from each other.

 “Loren’s attention to detail was so important,” said Boudwin.

"Dave really helped me to become a better public speaker," admitted Slack. "He has helped me to feel comfortable around the audience and has helped me learn presentation style."

Boudwin’s public presence is truly fearless, and his voice is as impressive as his stature.  The 6’7” senior basketball player’s poised competitiveness truly set the team in motion.  When the judges forbade Team Trump to use PowerPoint slides for their final presentation, the dynamic duo’s adjustment was seamless. 

Slack’s dedication to detail and to the “Lion’s Apprentice” had ‘trumped’ everything else in her life for nearly two months.  While her classes are prepping her for a career in accounting, Slack believes that the “Lion’s Apprentice” is what a business is all about.

Slack values how she has been able to apply her classroom knowledge to real business issues.  She also had the opportunity to combine her business skills with her love for the arts.  In the sixth challenge, Slack and Boudwin wowed the judges with a marketing campaign proposal for the Mercer Country Chamber of Commerce’s new Arts and Business Council. The challenge included a logo design, tagline, marketing plan and budget to promote the council's goal to connect arts organizations with the business community.  Team Trump—and their winning plan— was recognized at the Mercer County Chamber of Commerce’s annual dinner. 

Although Boudwin also appreciates the “Lion’s Apprentice” as an application of his classroom knowledge, he has been working in the real world since he was 14.  As a teenager, he began mowing lawns, and he now owns his own landscaping business.  He also owns real estate and rents it out. 

Even though Boudwin is already his own boss, he hopes the “Lion’s Apprentice” will propel him into post-baccalaureate success.

"I’m looking for a job, like most seniors," he said.  "Something in sports marketing, maybe."

Boudwin hopes that underclassmen will strongly consider joining the competition next year. 

"It’s a lot of work," he bluntly said. "However, it’s great for real business relations.  You are given a chance to see if you can actually survive in the real world.  It may make you switch majors…," Boudwin joked. 

The $1,000 grand prize has been a floor and not a ceiling for Team Trump.  Although Slack won’t enter the real world for another year, she also recognizes the value of the experience for her future.  At the final awards ceremony in the School of Business Lounge, Slack accepted her cut of the money in one hand and had a stack of resumes in the other, ready to submit to the business reps in attendance that night. 

Also in attendance were School of Business Dean Emmanuel Osagie, Provost Steve Briggs, and School of Business Executive-in-Residence Jim Conroy.  Conroy has over 25 years of experience on Wall Street and was integral in the implementation of the "Lion’s Apprentice."

The judges, including Osagie and Conroy, also acknowledged Team PBL’s members, Lauren Gonzalez, Nicole Gravina, Stephanie Ratushny, and Joe Shalhoub, for their solid presentation skills and hard work.