Alum Vies for Job with The Donald

As recruiting season winds down for seniors, the story of one recent graduate’s aspiration for a high-profile job offer will unfold on national television starting next month.

Set to air on Jan. 7, the sixth season of "The Apprentice" will feature Timothy B. Urban ’04 as one of the 18 contestants vying for an apprenticeship with Donald Trump, according to a statement from NBC.

Urban, a former government concentrator in Quincy House, was always considered "very charismatic and smart" by his friends, said his freshman roommate Michael B. Jobbins ’04.

Their freshman year, Urban went to an autograph signing for Manny Ramirez and ended up doing an impromptu interview of Red Sox players, Jobbins recounted.

"He saw a microphone that a reporter left lying somewhere, so he took it and confidently went up to the players," Jobbins said. "He got an interview with Pedro Martinez before security figured out what was going on."

After graduation, Urban went to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the music-making industry. But other opportunities opened up along the way, according to his father, Andrew Urban.

Besides co-founding a tutoring company, The Cartim Group, projected to generate $1 million in annual revenue, Urban auditioned for and landed a spot on the hit NBC reality show, his father said.

Andrew Urban said that his son went through many rounds of casting and faced a "battery of tests" including psychological and personality tests.

After being selected, Urban filmed the show with the other contestants from June to July in a mansion in L.A., according to the NBC press release.

NBC spokeswoman Jill Carmen said that studio rules prohibit Urban from giving any interviews to the press until the show airs his elimination or win.

This season of the show was filmed in L.A. as opposed to New York, the host location for all previous seasons, according to the press release.

Also new this season, the losing team will have to sleep outdoors and use port-a-potties, according to the statement.

In addition, the project manager of the winning team will advise Trump on whom to fire each week from the losing team, the statement said.

His father said that Urban originally had no intention of doing any shows while in L.A. and spontaneously tried out for "The Apprentice" when its casting directors came to the city.

"He basically kind of got a kick out of doing the show," Andrew Urban said.

Meanwhile, Urban has gotten a record deal, according to his father.

"He’s now cutting an album with the well-known producer Glen Ballard, and it will probably come out in January," Andrew Urban said. Ballard is an award-winning producer who has worked with Shakira and Michael Jackson, according to Ballard’s Web site.

—Staff writer Aditi Banga can be reached at abanga@fas.harvard.edu.