Brad Cink, a recent graduate of Auburn, was granted a position at Apple, and it all started by sending an email.
Cink, a Mobile native, majored in industrial engineering.
In the summer of 2011, Cink had an internship at the Apple headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., in product marketing.
While in Cupertino, Cink had the opportunity to meet Tim Cook, CEO of Apple. They found they had a lot of things in common. Cook is also from Mobile and majored in industrial engineering at Auburn.
After interning, Cink applied for a handful of jobs with the company.
"One Sunday night I sent Tim Cook an e-mail, and by the next morning he had already emailed me back," Cink said. "People are just people. Cook may be the CEO, but he's actually a very approachable person."
Spencer Moore, former member of Auburn SGA with Cink, said, "the two had a good rapport, and when the opportunity to return to California and work at the company arose, Brad jumped at the chance."
To follow up, Cink flew back out to Cupertino and went through an interview process, through which he was able to land a position with the company.
"Maybe it was luck, but it was one of those situations that I'm happy it worked out," he said.
Currently, Cink resides in San Francisco.
"Brad's persistency and dedication led him to where he is today," said William Hardison, senior in chemical engineering. "Not only is he a hard worker, but his intuitive way of thinking separates him from other circles of people."
Cink said while he was at Auburn he "always recognized I needed to be involved."
During his time at Auburn, Cink was a part of Tiger Tuesdays, the War Eagle Girls and Plainsmen, a fraternity and stayed involved with SGA for three years.
Cink has always been a positive person, Moore said.
"This was especially evident in SGA," he said. "We would often have meetings where the challenges to certain problems seemed insurmountable. There would be a lot of complaining and people saying that something couldn't be done."
Moore said he never heard that kind of talk from Cink.
Moore also said Cink was responsible for a lot of the dining changes on campus.
Other than being involved with campus activities and other changes, Cink was also a representative for Apple at the Auburn bookstore.
He ran for SGA president in 2010 and lost but was then appointed executive vice president.
Moore said he has no doubt Brad is excelling in his new job.
"He was always at his best when he faced challenges, and I imagine working at one of the most profitable companies on Earth can present some interesting challenges," he said.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
