On Friday, November 19, we spoke to Stephanie Castagnier, who was the twelfth contestant fired by Donald Trump on the reality television series, The Apprentice.  Stephanie was fired on last night's episode after she and her teammate, Liza, lost to Steuart, Clint, and Brandy on the task of creating a 30-second commercial for AT&T Mobile TV and FLOTV.  Despite Stephanie delivering a good presentation, the executives judging the commercials did not like her concept which featured people watching television on their mobile devices while at work and did not put the product brand name front and center.

Here are the facts about Stephanie Castagnier from her NBC Apprentice bio: Stephanie Castagnier, 34 (Chicago, IL), born and raised in Montreal, has been a fighter since a very young age. Having both her parents pass away from AIDS when she was only a teenager, Castagnier started her career by putting herself through college at McGill University while working full time. Since then, she has worked as a commercial banker, at which she found success at a young age and was ranked among the top commercial lenders in the country several years running. After being directly impacted by the effects of the recession in the financial sector, she is looking to take control of her life and be proactive in her career. Additionally, Castagnier founded Child Cause/Fear to Fire, a non-profit organization that provides a peer network to teens affected by AIDS and substance abuse by inspiring through the arts and has authored a book titled "Fear to Fire." Castagnier is very athletic, a national speaker and continues to write.

USTOWNHALL SPEAKS TO STEPHANIE CASTAGNIER OF THE APPRENTICE 10:

USTH: It was very interesting at the end of the show, during the Rockport "Next Steps" segment, where it was revealed that you now work in one of Mr. Trump's companies. How did it all come about that you were fired by Donald Trump and then hired by his company? What exactly do you do there, and are you still working for them?

STEPHANIE CASTAGNIER: I'm actually working with the Trump Network, and I was approached by them during the show, at the beginning of the show, and what I work on with them is [with the] Executive Director of the Trump Network, which is the multilevel marketing organization that Trump started. It's Trump products, and they range from beauty and health to wellness. I'm working with them in that organization with regards to sales and marketing.

USTH: To clarify, you were approached by them when the show started filming at the beginning?

STEPHANIE CASTAGNIER: No, at the beginning when the show started airing.

USTH: Oh, okay.

STEPHANIE CASTAGNIER: So maybe about September.

USTH: In the boardroom segment, were you surprised by Steuart's comment that you should be the one fired and that Donald should not let you escape from the boardroom? Very dramatic.

STEPHANIE CASTAGNIER: No, I was not surprised by Steuart's comments because, of course, you always want to get rid of the competition, and Steuart knew that I was a true competitor. And actually, Steuart sent me an email this morning, wanting to add his comments. So no, I wasn't surprised. That's the name of the game – always get rid of your strongest competition first and so now, Steuart is probably glad that I'm gone because he's vying for that position.

USTH: Were you surprised that Brandy and Liza are the last two women standing?

STEPHANIE CASTAGNIER: I'm not surprised that Brandy's the last – one of the last two remaining standing. I think Brandy's a very strong competitor, and she was from the beginning of the competition. I respect her because she always had a lot to contribute. I think she was very intelligent; she's very hands-on, she's not afraid to make decisions when she has to. But I am surprised that Liza's one of the final two remaining women because she's the complete opposite and did not contribute as much as everyone else did.

USTH: Have you become friends with any of the other contestants since filming wrapped on the show?

STEPHANIE CASTAGNIER: Yes, I actually have become great friends with Brandy. I'm also good friends with Steuart and Clint and Anand and Gene and Mahsa, Tyana. So, there's a little group of us [who] are still good friends.

USTH: What do you take away from this experience overall, and would you do it all over again?

STEPHANIE CASTAGNIER: It was a great experience, and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. It was a good learning experience. I'm very rejuvenated and I'm very motivated. I'm excited to get to work and build my own brand now.

USTH: And what brand would that be?

STEPHANIE CASTAGNIER: The Stephanie Castagnier brand. I'm obviously now a very popular banker here in Chicago, and I'm going to continue working in the banking arena, and I'm a mortgage lender, and so I'm going to continue doing that. I'm also going to continue to empower women in going on – I'm speaking across the country on women and financial freedom as a female and not relying on a man to build your own financial freedom.

USTH: You also have a foundation about teens coping with AIDS and substance abuse. Is that something you can talk to us a little bit about?

STEPHANIE CASTAGNIER: Yes, definitely. A big part of my life is the Child Cause/Fear to Fire nonprofit, which is a nonprofit I founded in 2007 and what we do is we inspire teens through the arts. So in 2011, I'm producing 120 music concerts across the U.S., and it's all about positive inspiration and raising teen drug [abuse prevention] awareness. So, I'm a very big teen drug [abuse prevention] advocate, and I definitely travel across the U.S. We have done this for many years, talking about my life and my experiences [both of Ms. Castagnier's parents passed away from AIDS when she was a teenager], and the importance of keeping teens inspired.

USTH: It sounds like you're very busy. Thank you very much for talking to us and much success in the future. I have a feeling you don't need our good luck, but good luck to you.

STEPHANIE CASTAGNIER: Thank you.

The Apprentice airs each Thursday night at 10:00pm Eastern & Pacific / 9:00pm Central on NBC.

Use the image gallery below to read the other interviews in this series 

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