Bowling Green, Ky. - Being one of 18 contestants on “The Apprentice” last season has opened the door for several employment opportunities for Western Kentucky University graduate Charmaine Hunt.

Since the show completed its run on NBC this spring, the Madisonville native has heard about job opportunities in New York and Los Angeles and has been contacted by the president of Trump University and the CEO of Trump’s mortgage company.

And next week she’ll be back in New York for a meeting with Donald Trump.
“It’s definitely opened some doors,” Hunt said Wednesday.

Hunt, a 2000 WKU graduate, told members of the Warren County WKU Alumni Chapter that WKU had prepared her well for her business career and for her appearance on “The Apprentice.”

“It’s really exciting for me to come back to the place that helped me get where I am today,” said Hunt, who lives in Nashville, Tenn., and works for a Fortune 500 company specializing in home warranties and risk management.

During her luncheon presentation, Hunt provided some inside information about her experience on “The Apprentice”:

• The answer to the most-asked question is: “Yes, Donald Trump’s hair is real.”
  
  
• How was she chosen? Hunt attended a casting call last June in Nashville and was one of 50 people nationwide invited to Los Angeles for additional interviews. She was one of 18 finalists selected for the show’s fifth season.
  
  
• When was the show filmed? September to November 2005 in New York.
  
  
• Who knew? Everyone she told – her parents, her boss and one friend – had to sign a contract saying they’d pay NBC $5 million if they revealed the secret. “It was an exciting time but I couldn’t tell anyone.”
  
  
• How did you explain your absence from work? “The story was that I was in California for training for two months. Some people thought that sounded fishy.”
  
  
• Did you watch show? Contestants saw the episodes for the first time when NBC aired them. “It was a more stressful experience for me to watch the show.” Hunt was portrayed as a crybaby on the show because of one emotional day early in the process. “You’d cry too if you didn’t get to eat or sleep and had to wear heels every day,” she said laughing.
  
  
• What’s The Donald really like? “He’s just like any guy next door with bad hair and billions of dollars.”
  
  
• What about the camera crews? Contestants quickly forget the cameras and technical staff are around 24/7 even though it was exciting during the tasks as “we were running around the streets of New York and they were chasing us.”
  
  
• What happens after “You’re fired” and the taxi ride? All of the contestants remained together at another location in New York for the two months and were treated to various activities like ballgames, plays and dining.
  
  
• What did you learn? Be yourself; don’t pay people if they don’t do the job (as Hunt learned on the task where she hired a foul-mouthed comedian); work hard and do a good job; and be willing to take risks.
  
  
• But really, what about that hair? “He knows his hair is ugly. But he knows people are talking about it.”

For more on Charmaine Hunt, visit www.charmainehunt.com

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For information, contact Alumni Relations at (270) 745-4395.

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