In 2004, 16 students in the NIU College of Business made headlines for participating in a class based on Donald Trump’s hit television show, “The Apprentice.”
Nicole D'Ambrosio, a 2003 alumna of the business school has done that group one better: She is one of 18 contestants on the show this spring vying to win a job working for Trump.
Nicole, 25, will not be intimidated by the prospect of the hard work required to earn that prize. The Naperville native financed her entire NIU education on her own, working two or three jobs at a time to make ends meet. Not only did she manage to graduate with honors, she also found time to earn an associate degree and a certificate in real estate at Kishwaukee College.
With her NIU degree in hand she founded Commercial Real Estate Corporation in Chicago, which specializes in large acquisitions of commercial real estate. She not only runs the company but also manages a portfolio of properties valued at more than $1 million.
“I think she will thrive in an atmosphere like that on the show,” says Rick Ridnour, an NIU business professor who helps lead the school’s nationally respected Professional Sales Program. “She is competitive, hard working, ambitious and smart.”
While Nicole is up against some impressive competition, including an Olympic gold medalist and Fortune 500 executives, she believes she should be Trump’s next apprentice. “I have the education, real estate experience and an undying will to succeed at everything I do,” she says.
“The Apprentice” airs on Sunday evenings on NBC.
Joe King, NIU Public Affairs