Elon’s Real Estate Club spent three days in New York and New Jersey learning about careers in real estate from professionals at Hunt Real Estate Capital, CBRE and Vision Real Estate Partners.
Ten members of Elon’s Real Estate Club traveled to New York and New Jersey Feb. 19-21 to experience the day-to-day of a variety of careers relating to real estate.
The students visited a number of companies including CBRE, Hunt Real Estate Capital and Vision Real Estate Partners, and toured the global headquarters of a large financial firm. The company visits allowed students to expand their professional network and gain valuable insights as they met, listened and conversed with professionals spanning the industry.
“Being a student, an experience like this is invaluable and not something you can get in a classroom,” reflected Taylor Pani ’21, an economics and finance double major. “It provided me with more direction for my post-college aspirations and motivated me to get more involved and learn more about the real estate industry. We had the opportunity to speak with industry professionals and learn about their initiatives as it refers to analyzing, acquiring and disposing of Real Estate interests. It was a great experience and I can’t wait to see where the Real Estate Club heads next year!”
David Cocoziello ’18, underwriting analyst, hosted the group at Hunt Real Estate Capital, which is a real estate lender specializing in agency lending for multifamily. While there, students learned about types of agency financing for multifamily and the underwriting process.
At CBRE, Tim Taylor ’07, senior program manager of FM operations, explained to the students the biggest part of the CBRE revenue stream is Global Working Solutions. This division works with large corporate clients around the globe. Afterward, the group toured the global headquarters of a large financial firm, including the trading floors, and explored open office floor plans and multiple amenities. Students learned about LEED and WELL certifications for buildings.
The Real Estate Club was accompanied by Margarita Kaprielyan, advisor of the club and assistant professor of finance.
“The Real Estate Club has allowed me to not only learn about the industry but provided me with insights and knowledge needed to choose a career path that suits me,” said Angelo Boone ’20, president of the club and an entrepreneurship and finance double major. “The goal of the Real Estate Club is to take curious students and foster their interest in real estate through meaningful club meetings and connecting them with relevant resources and people who will facilitate their professional development.”
The Real Estate Club has been a stepping stone for real estate to enter Elon academics.
Boone added, “The Real Estate Club has been a stepping stone for real estate to enter Elon academics. There are now ARGUS workshops, a course titled Real Estate Finance (FIN 415), and plans for a Real Estate Financial Modeling course. The club has been a great supplement to these courses, and as the alumni network in the industry continues to expand, the club will only become more influential.”
The Real Estate Club was introduced to Elon two years ago to provide students the opportunity to learn more about the industry. It is open to all undergraduate students who want to learn about real estate as an investment, development, REIT’s, sustainability, construction, and industry trends. In a hands-on environment, students have the opportunity to network with successful real estate professionals from around the country and learn critical skills such as ARGUS Enterprise Software.
Since it was founded, the club has expanded from informational-based presentations to guest speakers and company visits with aspirations to participate in case studies on a national level within the next few years. This academic year, club members were able to visit all different types of real estate firms this year through company treks to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Raleigh, North Carolina, New York and New Jersey.
For more information about the Real Estate club, email aboone4@elon.edu.