A Western Kentucky University graduate will get her 15 minutes of fame - and, if she's lucky, a swanky job with Donald Trump - on the upcoming fifth season of Trump's business reality show “The Apprentice.”

Charmaine Hunt, 27, a Madisonville native, graduated from WKU in 2000 with a degree in corporate and organizational communication, said Communication Department Chair Sally Ray.

“She is so sweet,” Ray said. “I've talked to her, and she's really excited about it, but is still so humble about the whole experience.”

Hunt could not be reached for comment - Ray said she's been communicating via e-mail with Hunt, who's not permitted to talk about the show. However, Hunt's biography on NBC's “Apprentice” Web site says one of her biggest influences is her mother, “an adventurous and hard-working Filipino immigrant who left everything to move to the U.S.”

Hunt, who now lives in Nashville, works as an area manager for a real estate warranty firm there. Since graduating from Western six years ago, she's also lived and worked in San Diego and Scottsdale, Ariz. She's received several awards for her leadership and public speaking, according to her bio.

“She was a good student and she had an outstanding work ethic,” Ray said. “She was very friendly, articulate and personable. ... She really excelled in her communication courses when she was at Western.”

Donald Trump himself called Hunt “an unbelievable presenter” in a recent issue of TV Guide.

Ray said she got an e-mail from Hunt after the issue came out.

“ ‘Did you see what Donald Trump said about me in TV Guide?' she said,” Ray said.

“ ‘I know my professors would be very pleased about that' - and we are.”

The university is thrilled to see one of its own make good, Ray said, and Hunt has already agreed to speak to Western students in April after the show's run is over.

“We are so happy for her,” Ray said. “This is such an accomplishment, because I understand there are hundreds of thousands of applications, and she obviously rose to the top.”

Although Ray hasn't followed the show in previous seasons, “you can bet I'll watch it this time,” she said. In fact, the Communications Department is hosting a “Charmaine Watch” beginning at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Red Zone in the Downing University Center on campus, she said - there'll be free food, giveaways from local TV station NBC-40, and a Donald Trump look-alike contest to celebrate “The Apprentice” season premiere.

“The Apprentice,” which airs locally at 8 p.m. Monday on WNKY NBC-40, pits 18 contestants against each other in a competition for the ultimate job: working with Donald Trump for a six-figure salary. The contestants are typically split into two teams, which are assigned similar projects to complete. The winning team is rewarded at the end of the day, while the losing team finds itself in the board room, where one unlucky candidate is on the receiving end of Trump's now-famous “You're fired.”

In the interview portion of Hunt's online bio at NBC, she talked about why she should be the one to hear “You're hired” at the season's end.

“My education, intelligence, leadership skills and proven track record are what got me here,” she wrote. “My hard work and determination coupled with my ability to communicate well with people is what makes me the best candidate. My instinct and sheer inability to lose is what should make me the next apprentice!”

Although the NBC site pictures Hunt looking serious in business casual attire, Ray remembers a different side.

“I still see her in one of those green Kappa Delta T-shirts, coming to class with her hair in a ponytail,” Ray said. “My, how things change.”