The Apprentice Challenge at Metro State A-Team earned its first win
at the April 25 boardroom meeting at the Alliance for Sustainable
Colorado building in Denver.
The prize? An exclusive dinner with President Stephen Jordan at his home in downtown Denver on May 18.
The win was a great way to end the hard work put into all the
projects, said A-Team member Kaleigh Braun. It was an example of the
kind of character the team has and demonstrated what we were made of,
she said.
However, the last challenge would come with a special surprise for
the 10 juniors vying for the full-ride scholarship. Throwing a twist
into the six month-long Apprentice Challenge, the Alumni Relations
office decided to change the teams. Each student would pull a name out
of a hat to reveal who their new teammates would be.
Ironically, the teams stayed relatively the same, the only
difference being that Ben Gillespie joined the 5280 Closers and Giedre
Stasiunaite went to the A-Team.
“We wanted to get excitement and change the energy of each team,”
said Stefanie Carroll, assistant director of alumni programs and
communication. “It was just bizarre how it turned out.”
Stasiunaite said that, at first, she was mad about the team change.
“I had worked really hard with my team (5280 Closers) and I felt like I
was going to be a guest to the new team. But they were really open to
me, and we worked really hard together.”
Working alongside the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado, both teams
performed “eco audits” for two local restaurants, finding ways to lower
their energy consumption and save the businesses money in the long-run.
The A-Team decided to “eco-audit” Kate’s at 35th Avenue
restaurant, where they changed all of the lights to more efficient CFL
bulbs. They were also able to enhance owner Lynn Smith’s personal image
by educating her customers on her sustainable restaurant. They also
persuaded her to be an “eco-green vendor” at the Democratic National
Convention.
The 5280 Closers, renamed the 5280 Eco-Closers, were able to
demonstrate to owner Paul Sandoval of Tamales by La Casita restaurants
that sustainability is feasible. They suggested using an alternative
waste company that would recycle the large amount of cardboard that
Sandoval uses. The team also quoted Sandoval on special rebates and
credits he would receive from the energy company and the government to
install solar panels in his restaurants.
After working hard on the final challenge, Stasiunaite is now
looking forward to having dinner and discussing politics with President
Jordan, a fellow political science major.
“We’re definitely going to be talking about the Democratic National Convention,” she said.
Now the 10 apprentices can relax and wait for the Boardroom Finale
on May 1. A-Team member Chris Wilcox says that he’s just happy that the
challenges are over, rather than being concerned about winning the
scholarship.
“As corny as it sounds, I couldn’t care less who wins,” Wilcox said
“I just know that I will have something unbelievable on my resume.”
