Woodbine resident took first place in Towson’s program, The Associate

The program, modeled after Donald Trump’s The Apprentice, landed Brandon Mabry a management development job offer and provided opportunities to network with other businesses

Thursday, May 4, 2006

When Brandon Mabry, a Towson University senior majoring in marketing, signed up for the school’s ‘‘The Associate” program, he didn’t know three months later he’d walk away with a full-time management development job offer at Bank of America in Wilmington, Delaware.

Mabry was one of eight candidates to participate in Towson’s version of Donald Trump’s ‘‘The Apprentice,” where candidates compete for the chance to work with Trump.

Mabry, a recent Woodbine and former Mount Airy resident, was one of 10 applicants to enter the competition; last year’s candidates narrowed the pool to eight.

In addition to filling out applications, writing essays and submitting resumes, candidates also created videos stating why they wanted to be a part of the competition.

‘‘Brandon went above and beyond,” said Carolyn Oleynik, communications specialist at Towson, recalling his video as creative and humorous.

Frank Bramble, a member of the Board of Directors for Bank of America, played the part of Trump, whittling down the number of candidates one-by-one for the first four case studies, which included real life marketing and business situations from real companies, such as Black & Decker and Merritt Athletic Club.

The remaining five candidates were narrowed down to two after interviews with business leaders. Mabry and Santiago Hernandez, a senior from Wilmington, Delaware, remained, Oleynik said.

The experience had its own rewards.

‘‘You are able to work on real life case studies,” Mabry said. Networking is also a big plus, he added. ‘‘I’ve met so many people around Baltimore. It’s just been surreal.”

Mabry and Hernandez took on a final case study with Bank of America and presented their findings April 23. The mission was to develop an internal and external public relations campaign, highlighting Bank of America’s sponsorship with the Baltimore Orioles, without using paid media.

Mabry said that case study, which he won, was his favorite. ‘‘I’m a sports guy,” he said with a laugh.

The competition began in January. ‘‘It consumed my life for about three months,” Mabry said with a laugh, adding it was worth it.

The position he landed is one of 12 openings for a management development program in card services for Bank of America in Wilmington. The new program will be implemented in September and the remaining 11 positions will be hired internally, Oleynik explained in an e-mail.

‘‘It’s a lot of leadership responsibility,” Mabry said. ‘‘It’s a great stepping stone program to move up the corporate ladder quickly.”

Mabry started his own business at 16, selling sports apparel online. He said he sold that business two years ago and has been working on getting another business up and running in between classes and ‘‘The Associate.” His second business is SNB Net, a web-hosting company, Mabry explained. ‘‘I have a full plate, I guess you could say.”

His mom Linda Mabry isn’t surprised her son won. ‘‘This has been something that has been right up his alley,” she said. ‘‘For his 14th birthday, he asked for an appointment with a stockbroker.”

She said she was pleased with the way Towson University has helped prepare her son and his classmates for the future. ‘‘I can’t say enough about Towson,” she said. ‘‘They really work with [the students].”

‘‘It was wonderful,” his mom added about ‘‘The Associate” opportunity. ‘‘They had some really difficult cases. They really had to work.”

However, wining the competition was the not the first time Mabry was recognized for his business skill.

Mabry, who attended Mount Airy Elementary, Mount Airy Middle and South Carroll High schools, was named one of seven Maryland Young Entrepreneurs of the Year in 2001, during his senior year, his mother said. ‘‘He’s always been very interested in money,” she added with a laugh.

In fact, Brandon Mabry has been telling his parents that he’ll be a millionaire by the time he’s 40.

‘‘It’s a great experience,” Mabry said of The Associate program. ‘‘I encourage all students to give it a try. There’s a lot you can learn.”