2016 "Associate" winner crowned

William Newman won the 2016 "Associate" competition, earning a position with Vantage Realty.

William Newman during the competition finale.
William Newman during the competition finale.

The day after the 2016 "Associate" competition finale, College of Business and Economics student William Newman woke up in a panic fearing he was behind on work before he remembered he’d won.

“It’s still sinking in,” he said two weeks after he was offered a position rotating through various business functions and departments at Vantage Resort Realty, this year’s presenting company. It’s partially because less than three months ago, the thought of participating wasn’t on his radar.

“I wasn’t going to do it. I didn’t want to bite off more than I could chew,” he explains.

The Millersville, Maryland, native is president of the TU American Marketing Association, a member of Alpha Kappa Psi and a marketing intern for CBE’s Student Academic and Career Services Office. But the business administration/marketing major’s professors knew he was "Associate" potential—five professors individually recommended him to apply.

“I realized if that isn’t a sign, I don’t know what is,” he says. “Once I applied and was accepted I was in it to win it.”

Newman sealed his win by proposing an incentive program for renters of Vantage Realty’s Myrtle Beach rental properties like $100 vouchers for excursions or local restaurants. Brad Callahan, president and CEO of Vantage Resort Realty and the competition’s presenting executive, said the difficult decision to choose the winner required the judges to look at the candidates' performance over the entire competition. 

“The final deciding factor was growth over the semester,” said Callahan. “Where did you start? Where did you end up?... Both [candidates] showed tremendous amount of growth. But in the end there was a slight edge that went to Will.”

Newman, who is the first person in his family on his mother’s side to receive a four-year degree, plans to pursue his MBA in a few years. The rigor of the "Associate" will definitely have prepared him for that.

“It was very intensive to say the least,” he said. “The amount of work was unlike anything things I’ve done…I think I spent about 16-20 hours per week on the competition, including everything from researching to driving to companies to printing out reports. The time management put me to the test.”