When it came down to it, even Mother Nature couldn’t rain on Randal Pinkett’s parade.

Pinkett, a 34-year-old entrepreneur from New Jersey, was named Donald Trump’s newest protege in Thursday’s live two-hour season finale of “The Apprentice.” In besting fellow finalist Rebecca Jarvis, Pinkett puts to rest the question many have asked since the show’s premier season: Would Trump ever “hire” a black apprentice?

For many viewers of the show this season, the answer was a resounding yes, given Pinkett’s extraordinary resume. In the midst of earning five degrees from Rutgers University, the University of Oxford at England and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Pinkett has overseen the creation of five companies, including his latest venture, BCT Partners, a management, technology and policy consulting firm based in Newark, N.J.

Already a bona fide entrepreneurial success with a multi-million dollar company, Pinkett will now be a Trump employee with a one-year, six-figure contract. He will oversee a major project involving Trump’s Atlantic City sites, allowing him to remain to close to his wife of nearly two years, Zahara, who works at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J.

Marshawn Evans, a former Miss America contestant, was one of Pinkett’s three “employees” for his final task -- hosting a fundraiser for Autism Speaks at a Brooklyn baseball field. Evans, in true beauty pageant style, was ever so eloquent in telling Trump why Pinkett deserved to be the winner when asked during the show’s final moments, which occurred in a packed theater at New York’s Lincoln Center.

“Without a doubt, there’s never been an easier choice for the Trump organization,” Evans said shortly before Trump handed down his decision. “He provides excellence in everything he does.”

However, it didn’t exactly turn out to be the runaway many people expected at the conclusion of last week’s episode. Pinkett’s decision-making came into question on several occasions, frustrating some viewers who were big fans.

Diana Breslin-Knudson, associate dean of Temple University’s Fox School of Business and Management, thought all along that Pinkett would win.

“He did not come across as well as he did in all the previous shows, and it certainly wasn’t advantageous to him,” Breslin-Knudson told BlackAmericaWeb.com, calling into question the editing skills of the show’s producers.

“[The weather issue] appeared to have caught him a little off guard, but that just goes to show you that there can definitely be inconsistent performances,” Breslin-Knudson said. “Most entrepreneurs have to experience failure before they reach success.”

Alfred A. Edmond, Jr., executive editor of Black Enterprise, said Pinkett’s less-than-stellar showing was due more to his laid back style.

“He’s usually so comfortably far ahead of the competition that he can get complacent,” Edmond told BlackAmericaWeb.com, comparing Pinkett to superior athletes who don’t play as hard against inferior competition. “What we saw in the beginning of the final task was just him kind of being relaxed, a little too relaxed. He sort of fell asleep at the wheel.”

What woke Pinkett up was a stern talking to from Outback Steakhouse executives, who were sponsoring the celebrity softball game he was charged with coordinating. Many thought Pinkett mismanaged his time leading up to the task, and Trump sidekick Carolyn Kepcher repeatedly questioned why Pinkett didn’t have a more solid Plan B, having to resort to hosting a celebrity auction in the baseball field’s locker room due to inclement weather.

Despite all the obstacles, Pinkett went on to raise more than $11,000 for autism research. Jarvis, on the other hand, failed to raise any money at an event she was charged to run for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

“When the executive from Outback jumped in his face, it embarrassed him and hurt his feelings,” said Edmond, who, like Pinkett, is a Rutgers alumnus and met the "Apprentice" winner before his reality TV run. “He didn’t see Rebecca as competition and, unfortunately, most great champions need a great challenger to compete well.”

Breslin-Knudson agreed that failing to select strong people will bring down any leader.

“It’s important to pick a strong team and to basically stay focused on your task,” Breslin-Knudson said, adding that many of her students can gain great lessons from “The Apprentice.”

“Sometimes people can screw up on one task, but their overall effort demonstrates that they’re a strong employee,” Breslin-Knudson said. “This is something that our students need to recognize -- that when you’re dealing with human behavior, people are not [at the top of their game] all the time. They can have off days, too.”

While viewers of “The Apprentice” have seen a steady stream of highly-qualified black men, it’s been the black women who often left the boardroom with their tails between their legs. That Hall of Shame includes Tara’s dismissal after her one and only turn as project manager, Verna’s abrupt exit on her own volition, Stacey J.’s mental health being called into question and the legendary dirty-crossing of Omarosa in the show’s first installment. Many say it was Omarosa's antics that caused popular black candidate Kwame Jackson to lose out to the original “Apprentice,” Bill Rancic.

But in Evans, Edmond said, Pinkett found a great teammate to get him over the final hurdle.

“I think both Randall and Marshawn did a lot to balance the bad taste (Omarosa) left in the black professional’s mouths,” Edmond said. “It was just great to see them work well together and to see them shine.”

Edmond believes Evans and teammates Josh and Mark helped to give Pinkett a team that was stronger than Jarvis’. In his opinion, Evans gave black female viewers something to be proud of, despite not having made it to the final four.

“This is the first season that black women can hold their heads up high and say, 'This is the way we want to be represented on television,'” Edmond said. “In many ways, Marshawn had a bigger cross to bear than Randall did with the way that black women were seen on this show.”

Edmond, not falling for the Trump hype, said he isn’t sure whether Pinkett may be overqualified to work for Trump. However, being dubbed “The Apprentice” will only add to the exposure that Pinkett generates.

“Part of the hype of the show is to make it seem like [the winner] will be running divisions, but none of them are truly doing that. It’s television. I’m sure the money is real and the exposure is good,” Edmond said. “But I think we need to be realistic. It’s not like he’ll be running a division of General Motors or IBM. This will only enhance what he has already accomplished.”

And what Pinkett has accomplished -- educationally, professionally and now as the newest reality TV winner -- Edmond said, will increase his visibility as a role model.

“To the degree that the whole nation is seeing the kind of black man that you don’t see on television, I think he’s going to be inspiring,” Edmond said. “The bigger potential impact, however, is going to be on white America, who unfortunately thinks people like Randal appear as figments of their imagination.

“Some people believe more in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy than in a black man like Randal,” Edmond added. “Many will now say he’s an exception to the rule, but in reality he is the representative of a black man, not the exception.”