6 at BYU win internships in unconventional way

PROVO — Six Brigham Young University undergraduates have new internships, thanks to an unconventional internship competition sponsored by the Marriott School Undergraduate Management Office.

The competition, loosely based on the popular TV show "The Apprentice," showcased participants' interviewing and presenting skills in front of an audience. Contestants were asked to give a one-minute presentation about themselves and their qualifications.

Following a brief questioning period, a panel of judges rated each contestant on a scale from one to 10 and announced six winners after a final deliberation.

The judges, taken from the school's undergraduate advisory board, conducted phone interviews with 30 applicants before narrowing the field to 13. Those finalists made their cases face-to-face with the judges during the finals.

The winners include Ashley Kehl, Salt Lake City, who won an internship with Cricket; Connor MacClennan, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, with CORE Realties; Ashton Phillips, St. Cloud, Minn., with Merrill Lynch; Andrew Emory, Santa Barbara, Calif., with Sperry Van Ness; Cyle Adair, Lawton, Okla., also with Sperry Van Ness; and Jake Park, Seoul, Korea, with World Financial Group.

"I was impressed with the caliber of students who applied," said panel judge Mary Carlston, director of finance for Sperry Van Ness Equities, LLC. "I would have hired any one of the candidates and been happy. They were all excellent. Our main goal, though, was more to raise general awareness of how valuable an internship is for every student."