Alumni Relations AVP Cherrelyn Napue and association President Eric Peterson congratulate Metro State's first Apprentice, Giedre Stasiunaite.

After a long semester that included four major community projects and dozens of sleepless nights, Giedre Stasiunaite heard the words she’d been waiting to hear since December: “You’re hired.”

Amid a neatly staged, “boardroom” backdrop that would befit Donald Trump, the 21-year-old junior bested nine of her counterparts last Thursday to win the first Apprentice Challenge @ Metro State. Chosen and cheered on by a crowd of more than 200 who turned out at the Tivoli Turnhalle for the Boardroom finale, Stasiunaite was presented with a full scholarship for her final year at Metro State. She’ll also receive a paid internship at a local company.

“Winning the competition feels great right now,” Stasiunaite, a native of Lithuania, said. “But the best part was getting to know my fellow students and all of the leaders we worked with. I feel like we really helped the community and made a big difference everywhere we went.”

The three finalists: runner-up Noah Steingraeber, eventual winner Giedre Stasiunaite and Chris Wilcox.

The first-ever Apprentice Challenge, sponsored by the Alumni Association, raised more than $70,000 for the association’s scholarship fund—some of which was shared with the Apprentice Challengers in the form of $500 awards for textbooks.

“The Alumni Association has a saying that ‘no one can outwork a Metro State student,'” said Eric Peterson, association president. “Over the past six months, these students have really proven that point.”

The ten apprentice students worked on four projects over the course of the semester:

1) prompting local restaurants to add healthy options to their menus as part of the Kaiser Permanente Smart Meal Challenge (http://www.mscd.edu/~collcom/artman/publish/apprentice_twv5021308.shtml);

2) helping two nonprofits working to curb homelessness address some of their short- and long-term business needs as part of the UMB Bank Homeless Challenge (http://www.mscd.edu/~collcom/artman/publish/apprentice_twv5031208.shtml);

3) helping two local businesses minimize their energy-related costs and consumption with the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado (http://www.mscd.edu/~collcom/artman/publish/apprentice_twv5043008.shtml); and

4) working with CH2M Hill and the Colorado I Have a Dream Foundation (CIHDF) to promote science, technology, engineering and math among more than 60 Denver middle school students (http://www.mscd.edu/~collcom/artman/publish/apprentice_twv5040208.shtml).

The audience of more than 200 chose the winner using hand-held voting devices.

The Apprentice challengers really bought into our mission,” said Erin Larrabee, project coordinator for CIHDF. “The [contestants] did such a great job encouraging the kids to consider careers in math and science and really helped our ‘Dreamers’ conceptualize what it might be like to someday go to college. I heard at least a few of my students saying that they couldn’t wait to be Roadrunners,” Larrabee said.

At the Boardroom event, President Stephen Jordan said, “Thanks to the Apprentice Challenge, our students have obtained a kind of ‘real world,’ practical learning experience that is becoming one of the hallmarks of a Metro State education. The program exemplifies Metro State’s goal of meeting the needs of businesses and the community by solving problems for future growth and sustainability.”

“Many of the students told the audience that the challenge had given them an opportunity to kick-start their career climb by learning new skills and networking with corporate and community leaders among the contest’s many benefits.

“This experience helped me see just how far I can go,” said runner-up Noah Steingraeber, who earned a $1,500 scholarship for his second-place finish. “I now have a lot of experience that other students just don’t have. I’m so far ahead of the game because I haven’t been just sitting in a classroom--I’ve been out there working on a whole other level.”

To recap all of the action of the first-ever Apprentice Challenge @ Metro State, read contestant blogs and view all of the partners, visit www.mscd.edu/apprenticechallenge.