DANBURY, CONN. — Real estate mogul and television personality Donald Trump is many things to many people. But to three former WCSU students, Trump is “boss.”

Tom Trocola, Justin Rosini and Mike Hartel each recently worked on Trump’s popular television show, “Celebrity Apprentice.” Hartel and Rosini were communications/theatre arts majors who knew each other as students (Hartel graduated in 1998; Rosini attended from 1997-2003). Trocola graduated in 2009 with a B.A. in Communication and a minor in theatre arts.

Trocola, of Danbury; Rosini, of Sharon; and Hartel, of Westport, performed different tasks on the show, but the presence of three former WCSU students on the crew sums up something the theatre arts department has been proclaiming for years: Our proximity to New York City gives us the advantage of its vast resources and provides ample opportunities for our students to perfect their craft.

But it’s impossible to break into the highly competitive job market in theatre or television, right?

Not so, says Trocola.

“While in college I got my first job on the set of ‘The Private Lives of Pippa Lee’ as an intern/production assistant (PA),” Trocola explains. “Then I worked for ‘Project Runway,’ ‘Top Chef,’ ‘Make Me a Supermodel,’ and a Donna Karen shoot, ‘Urban Zen.’ After graduation, I worked for the Connecticut Film Festival, ‘Real World DC,’ ‘Real Housewives of New York,’ ‘Bethenny Getting Married, ‘Project Runway,’ and as the task coordinator for ‘Celebrity Apprentice.’”

Rosini, who has worked as a location scout and location manager for feature films and television shows since 2004, has an impressive resume that also started as soon as he left WCSU. It includes work on the films “Spider-Man 3,” “American Gangster” and “For Colored Girls,” and the television series “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “White Collar” and “Cupid,’ to name a few.

One of two assistant location managers for “Celebrity Apprentice,” Rosini, 32, says his education prepared him for a career in the entertainment industry.

“WCSU set me up with a network of like-minded individuals who are also working in the field,” he says. “I met Mike Hartel, who gave me my first job in the entertainment business, at WCSU, and I continue to see people from the university in New York City who are working in the industry.”

Hartel has had a similarly successful employment history since transferring from Sacred Heart to pursue a Western theatre arts degree in 1995.

“I got an actor’s equity stage managing job the day I finished college,” he says. “I made $390 a week before taxes … big time!”

From there, Hartel has handled location scouting and location management responsibilities for multiple TV series including “Sex and the City,” “Cashmere Mafia” and “Ugly Betty.” “Revolutionary Road,” “War of the Worlds” and “National Treasure” are just a few of the more than a dozen films on which he has worked.

Hartel credits WestConn’s faculty and fellow alumni with the progress he’s made in his career.

“The professors at Western are all working actor/director/producer types so it gave me the discipline and understanding to navigate a truly crazy business that I would never have understood otherwise,” he says. “The WCSU theatre program was the right size to let everyone have successes and failures before getting kicked out of the nest. And our alumni all seem to stay working and we keep each other working.”

The 40-year-old, who was the location manager for “Celebrity Apprentice,” said something he learned nearly 15 years ago at WCSU rang true during taping of the high-profile reality-TV show with the boss known for the dramatic way he fires people.

“It’s going to sound silly, but (Professor Emeritus of Communications and Theatre Arts) Bill Walton had a policy of ‘on-time is late in this business’ and boy was he right,” Hartel explains. “People get fired for being late all the time … it just happened on ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ this season!”

Now that “Celebrity Apprentice” has wrapped, Trocola hopes to move on to producing television shows. Rosini’s goals include producing films or TV shows and acting. Hartel sees work as a production manager in the near term, but hopes to direct eventually. There’s no question that all of them will be busy and working in the industry.

Trump, the trio’s most recent employer, has been quoted as saying, “I’m a bit of a P.T. Barnum. I make stars out of everyone.” In the case of Trocola, Hartel and Rosini, he’ll have to share some of the credit with WestConn.