Sacrifice pays off for Apprentice contestant
[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/marsapp.jpg” caption=”Michael Thibodeau became one of seven students awarded internships at the conclusion of this year’s MARS Apprentice earlier this week. Thibodeau was given a sales position with PepsiCo. File photo.”]
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When Michael Thibodeau found out he was going to be competing in the 2010 MARS Apprentice at the DeGroote School of Business, he took a drastic step. He quit his job.
"Joining MARS Apprentice I expected to be challenged each and every day, not only with the weekly task given to us, but also the physical and emotional stressors that were felt both individually and as a team," Thibodeau explains.
To ensure he was prepared for the competition, the fourth year commerce student quit the job he had held since starting his degree at DeGroote.
Thibodeau's sacrifice paid off this week when he became one of seven students awarded internships at the conclusion of this year's MARS Apprentice. Thibodeau was given a sales position with PepsiCo.
The annual competition focuses on marketing, advertising, retail and sales. Two teams of commerce students are given weekly challenges from top companies such as Bell, Jan Kelley Marketing, Maple Leaf Foods, Canadian Tire Financial and PepsiCo. Throughout the six-week competition, teams face off at boardroom sessions held each Tuesday as they present their solutions to challenges such as branding and marketing a new Petro Canada gift card campaign, managing the growth of the smart phone industry, increasing bread consumption among Canadians, differentiating the new G2 energy drink from established Gatorade and recruiting new Canadian Tire MasterCard accounts.
The opportunity to work on real projects with real companies attracted Thibodeau to the competition. "I felt the real life experience and competitive nature of this competition would push my teammates and I to our fullest potential, allowing us to grow our strengths and develop our weaknesses over the course of the competition," he said.
As he begins his internship with PepsiCo, Thibodeau will take with him the skills he gained through his Apprentice experience.
"As an individual I learned how to take a step back and work more collaboratively as a team rather than pushing forward to try and accomplish things by myself. MARS Apprentice is a life changing opportunity."
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