Heller and Other Teacher’s Assistants Add Value to Cornell Courses
Each year second-year students in Cornell’s Program in Real Estate (PRE) work as teacher’s assistants (TAs), providing valuable help to students and strengthening relationships with world-renowned professors. Students are chosen to assist instructors in classes they have taken and excelled in. During the 2010-11 school year, TAs are playing prominent roles in Real Estate Marketing and Management, Principles of Real Estate, Development Process, Office Development, Residential Development, Design in Real Estate Development, and Real Estate Finance and Investments.
Joshua Heller, PRE 2011, was a TA for Professor Tom Samuels in the Development Process course in the fall, and is currently assisting Professor Jack Corgel in the Real Estate Finance and Investments class. Heller commented, “The experience of working with both Professor Samuels and Professor Corgel as one of their teaching assistants has been very rewarding. Being able to collaborate with such knowledgeable and respected individuals has been extremely beneficial to furthering my development as student and as a real estate professional.” Heller’s role is to provide students with additional resources to understand course materials, grade class assignments, and help Professor Corgel coordinate with students.
Heller’s background prepared him well for the Development Process course. He graduated from Cornell University in 2002 and spent two years working in the construction field in the resort area of Big Sky, Montana. Then Heller acted on his entrepreneurial spirit and co-founded two companies: Lone Pine Builders, Inc. and The Lone Pine Group, LLC. At Lone Pine Builders, Joshua oversaw the entire construction process, from preliminary estimates and design meetings through the execution of the final punch list. Through The Lone Pine Group, Joshua participated in development activities ranging from purchasing properties to designing and financing homes.
Heller returned to Cornell University in 2009 to further his knowledge in commercial real estate development and real estate finance through the PRE. He excelled in his first-year courses in real estate finance, and, due to his strong course work, was picked by Professor Corgel to support the Real Estate Finance and Investments course.
Perhaps the strongest advantage of being a teacher’s assistants is the opportunity to work side-by-side with the real estate faculty. The professors in the PRE have robust experience researching and publishing papers on critical real estate issues. The opportunity to work directly with these professors helps teacher’s assistants gain a deeper understanding of the course principles. Strong relationships with faculty often lead to positive letters of recommendation to employers, and helpful direction and career guidance for students. For more information on PRE faculty please visit: http://realestate.cornell.edu/index.php/people/faculty.