Complete Results for the Real Estate Apprentice Grant Winners
Season IV (Jan – Jun 2006)

Overall Winner

First Runner Up

Second Runner Up

Other Top 10 Finalist

Top Semi-Finalist

Bio's of Top 10 Finalists are listed below in the order that the Finalists were first announced:

Susannah Satterstrom

Susannah Satterstrom, a college graduate who completed her licensing course with Armbrust Real Estate Institute, a RealtyU® Affiliate, works at Keller Williams Realty in Edwards, Colorado. When asked to explain why she will succeed in real estate when others around her may fail, Satterstrom responded, “I have biked up many high mountain passes in Colorado, and when you look ahead at the whole mountain, it seems formidable. However, I climb them by picking a spot ahead of me to focus on. Once I am there, I pick another one. Except for short “breathers”, I keep going. Being in motion, biking, and in business keeps me going when others have stopped.” Satterstrom also enjoys music and grew personally as an EMT, learning to remain calm and “stick to the plan” in the midst of a chaotic environment.

Maureen Bryand

Maureen Bryand completed her licensing training with Career Education Systems, a RealtyU® Affiliate. She currently is an agent with Coldwell Banker, Stucky & Associates, in Wichita, Kansas. When asked to describe what adversities she has faced and how she overcame them, Maureen replied, “I was adopted by my parents who lived on a farm without any boys. I started working very hard to help my family at a young age. After college, I started working at the Pella Windowscaping Center, where I became the first woman salesperson. At that position I overcame many prejudices, including proving that I knew enough about home construction to be able to sell the product. I achieved one of my goals in convincing a top builder in Wichita to switch from his previous provider, Andersen, to purchasing Pella windows. Even though he dismissed me during our first meeting, I routinely stopped by his office with beef jerky, cinnamon rolls etc., and Pella literature every three weeks for a year and half. He finally gave me a shot. I sold him a house full of windows and doors, and he has been buying Pella products ever since.

Pauline Espinosa

Pauline Espinosa studied real estate with Anthony Schools, a Kaplan Professional Real Estate School, and is currently an agent at Century 21 Beachside in Chino Hills, California. She graduated from Chapman University, with a Master’s degree in Educational Administration, and received her undergraduate degree from American College in Business Administration, with a secondary teaching credential. Espinosa was asked to describe how she overcame various adversities during her life. “From a very young age I had no parents to nurture or support me and ended up living with many different relatives. I did all I could to surround myself with people who I knew would influence me in a positive way. I looked to friends, church members, teachers, and athletics to mentor and educate me. I took control of my future and did my best to prepare for life’s challenges, putting myself through college while working full-time. I saved money, bought my own home, and now run my own business.”

Linda Taylor

Linda Taylor, who earned a B.S. degree, was trained at the Long & Foster Real Estate Training Center and works at Fairfax Realty in Elkridge, Maryland. In the late 80’s, Linda began her sales career selling life and health insurance, then revisited her education in 1989 on a full graduate scholarship to The College of Insurance to obtain her MBA degree. In 1995, she received a full graduate scholarship to Howard University and relocated to Washington, DC with her 2-year-old son. In 2000 she received her mortgage lenders license; in late 2005 her real estate license, and in January of 2006 she became a member of  The Luxury Institute. As for adversities, Taylor admits that she faces several on a daily basis: as a new agent with no experience, she is battling some veteran Top Producers who already dominate her market. Rather than going head-to-head with these incumbents, Taylor chose a different strategy: getting vital training by holding open house for those agents. Since they control the market, and the housing market cycle has changed.

Dawn Heinemann

Dawn Heinemann completed her licensing training with Arizona RealtyU® Affiliate Hogan School of Real Estate. Heinemann is a rare Arizona native and a unique real estate rookie. A firm believer in balancing work and life, Dawn integrates full-time work as an agent with Blackhawk Realty in Tucson with cycling, running, swimming and other fitness activities. She started her career in the food and beverage industry, working for some of the best hotels and restaurants in Arizona. Later she was employed as a Customer Service Representative for a worldwide shipping company, where she worked her way up the ladder to become a Customer Service Manager for over 200 employees. Dawn then moved to an international bank as an Assistant Vice President, again working with customers in the area of identity theft and fraud. When Heinemann changed careers, she made certain that she would be able to support herself for at least two years while she established herself. “I refuse to be a ‘dabbler’ in this profession. This is a 100% approach, combined with an outstanding business plan that I am confident will put me on the road to success.

Steve Rosch

Steve Rosch was educated by Armbrust Real Estate Institute, a RealtyU® Affiliate in Colorado, and is currently an agent with Coldwell Banker Adobe Realty, in Lakewood Colorado. Steve’s real-world experience includes sales, marketing, mortgage origination, property management and maintenance. Prior to his new career in real estate, he spent ten years in sales and marketing with an international software distribution company, where he was in charge of goal setting, quality control, problem resolution, employee training and business development. On the marketing side, he developed strategies, implemented and negotiated the purchase of large quantities of specialty software packaging, direct mail elements, presentation pieces, and trade show media. During this time, Rosch originated and placed mortgages for select customers. He adds, “I did this mostly for friends and family that would not trust any one else.”

Smita Patel

Smita Patelreceived her real estate education from Tennessee RealtyU® Affiliate, T.R.E.E.S., and works as an agent for Prudential Rowland Real Estate in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Since childhood, Smita was told she talked too much in class. Today she has transformed her natural inclination to speak into a valuable tool for communication with her real estate clients. “I have entrepreneurial blood in my veins, having managed four major types of businesses. My parents, also business owners, gave me extra motivation to prove that I could succeed in all that I do. Now that I am in it, I love the business, it's great working with the public in the real estate industry.” When asked to describe adversities she said, “Bad days allow us to learn and appreciate the good! My mother had high blood pressure and failing kidneys for years, eventually suffering a stroke that left her half paralyzed when I was only fourteen years old. She passed away six months later. My father and I moved around, living with relatives who treated me like a servant, then on to a prejudicial small country town, prior to where we live now. I overcame my fears, pain, tears and grief – not only the loss of my mother, but for the way I was treated by others. During that time I realized that home isn’t necessarily a stationary fixture, but an atmosphere – a feeling that I will always have as long as I am with my family and those I love.”

Heather Melchior

Heather Melchior studied real estate with The Real Estate Education Center, (T.R.E.E.C.) a RealtyU® Affiliate in Michigan, and is an agent with Bolton-Johnston Associates in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. As the granddaughter of a Polish entrepreneur, Heather firmly believes that she was born with an innate sense to create and sell. She proved this to herself as an aspiring youth in writing, performing, peddling lemonade, selling Girl Scout cookies, and later successfully taking French lessons.  Heather worked her way through her university years, excelling in foreign languages, and was the first on her father's side to earn a collegiate degree. The nights she spent alone in the hospital with a severe childhood illness fueled a keen awareness of her own mortality and clarified two burning desires: 1) to know the world, its wonder and genius, both naturally and artistically, and 2) to create a product of her own imagination – an invention, a service, or a business – and bring it to fruition. In a quest to witness that wonder and its genius, Heather became a Bilingual Flight Attendant, working for eleven years for a legacy carrier.

Chris Hain

Chris Hain completed his licensing training with Allied Real Estate Schools, and is an agent with Ramsey-Shilling Associates in Los Angeles. Hain received his Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of Nebraska. His interest in real estate has never waned since his days as a paperboy, walking door-to-door in the small town of Wahoo, NE. From those humble beginnings, he later went on to college and then worked for a newspaper in the Nebraska State Capitol of Lincoln. From there, Chris became a reporter in West Palm Beach, FL, where he focused largely on real estate development, planning and zoning issues. Hain believes that his work as a newspaper reporter was an excellent preparation for real estate sales. His daily work in the journalistic realm often began with cold calls. In a few seconds of conversation, Chris had to get people comfortable enough with him to tell him information they might otherwise keep to themselves. “It’s a lot like selling a product – turning the initially reluctant customer into the eventually enthusiastic buyer,”

Michica Guillory

Michica Guillory trained with Champions School of Real Estate in Houston, a RealtyU® Affiliate, and is currently an agent with Keller Williams Realty North Houston. Michica began her journalistic career in 1993 at the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal as a general assignments reporter. Over the course of a decade, Michica served as an editor at a number of publications in Houston. Michica eventually put her skills as a journalist to work as a marketing professional for Transwestern Commercial Services. Guillory also became a Property Manager and Marketing Director for a commercial real estate management company overseeing a 623,000 sq. ft. shopping center. It was there that Guillory learned how to comprehend, explain and negotiate lease agreements. Guillory believes that agents must possess the eloquence and acumen of a master salesperson. “After all, working in real estate without the sale is nothing more than volunteerism!”