AREC Travels to DC for 2011 Spring Trek
Students traveled to Washington D.C. on April 28-29 to participate in the 2011 Cornell University Associate Real Estate Council (AREC) DC Trek which included a variety of events designed to expose students to the real estate industry in the nation’s capital. These events consisted of informative meetings with leading real estate companies, an alumni networking hour organized by the DC Cornell Real Estate Council members, and an opportunity to meet Master of Professional Studies in Real Estate students from Georgetown University. The two-day trek is designed to allow students to network with global companies, local industry professionals and ultimately explore careers in one of the countries strongest real estate markets.
The Trek was organized by the AREC leadership to explore opportunities within the mid-Atlantic region of the country. AREC is Cornell’s graduate student-run real estate organization. AREC is committed to enhancing Cornell’s presence in the industry and providing its members with educational and career development opportunities. For the 2011 school year Tim Shaughnessy (PRE 2012) and Dylan Fonseca (MBA 2012) are the co-presidents, and with help from their AREC colleagues planned and executed an excellent career trek. Shaughnessy mentioned, “We are very grateful to Eastdil Secured, EYA, and Metlife for providing AREC members with a great learning and networking opportunity. This trek met the goals of the organization, as it enabled students to interact with influential companies and industry professionals and learn about career opportunities in the real estate industry. It was also a great time, and AREC members appreciated the chance to meet both CREC members and Georgetown real estate students in a social setting.”
The trek featured EYA, a DC urban homebuilder; Eastdil Secured, a real estate investment banking firm; and MetLife, a large insurance company that makes debt and equity investments in real estate. Brandon Jacobsen (PRE/MBA 2012) said, “The companies that we visited represented very different segments of the industry. The trek served as a good reminder of the vast range of career paths that are available in real estate.”
EYA was the first company on the trek agenda, and AREC met with Aakash Thakkar, vice president of acquisitions and development, and Bob Youngentob, president and CEO. EYA builds innovative urban neighborhoods to the highest standards, and has made its name and reputation by creating high quality, lifestyle friendly, residential communities throughout the Washington Metropolitan Area. The company has constructed more than 3,000 homes the DC Metro area and provided the students with a unique insight into a niche product, urban infill townhomes. In addition, Thakkar and Yougentob spoke about career paths and how they got to the point they are now in their careers.
After meeting with EYA, the students had the opportunity to meet with various representatives from Eastdil Secured, which spoke to the students about the industry and the trajectory of the company into the future. Eastdil Secured, a subsidiary of Wells Fargo Bank (NYSE: WFC), has long been considered a leading investment property sales, debt placement and commercial mortgage sales firm. The firm is also engaged in raising debt and equity in the public markets and raising private equity and entity recapitalizations. Since 2005, Eastdil Secured has completed over 2200 transactions totaling over $465 billion. Daniel Kianmahd, PRE 2010, an analyst in Eastdil Secured Washington D.C. office, greeted and introduced the students to the professionals that guided the discussion.
The last company on the agenda for the trek was MetLife Real Estate Investments. The discussion was directed by Ashleigh Simpson, associate director. Simpson is in charge of equity investments in the mid-Atlantic region, and was joined by professionals in charge of placing debt for the company. MetLife is a global leader in real estate investments and has been involved in the real estate business since 1878 as a mortgage lender, developer and owner. MetLife Real Estate Investments maintains a portfolio of over $48 billion invested in real estate products including equities and commercial mortgages. Simpson highlighted MetLife’s investment criteria and mentioned the conservative nature of their investment thesis and the high profile nature of their target investments.
The trek provided AREC members with a fantastic networking and learning opportunity. AREC provides trek opportunities, industry speaker visits, and many social opportunities for its members. For more information on the Associate Real Estate Council (AREC) please visit http://www.realestate.cornell.edu/arec/.