The Journey Begins – 2010 Orientation
The Cornell Program in Real Estate Class of 2012 arrived at Cornell University a week before classes started in order to participate in a series of orientation events designed to familiarize students with campus resources, the City of Ithaca and each other. In addition to regularly scheduled orientation events, a new series of optional pre-orientation activities was included.
Pre-Orientation events started with a Professional Development workshop where Professors Mark Talbert and Bruce Kirsch offered a two-day Financial Modeling with Microsoft Excel weekend session. The full day sessions taught students and members of the Real Estate Council advanced excel modeling skills.
Students took part in activities such as a guided tour of the campus by Robert Abrams, founder of the program, and a pleasant boat ride on the waters of historic Cayuga Lake. Students also enjoyed the Hoffman Challenge Course, presented by Cornell Outdoor Education, in which they participated in team-building activities designed to promote teamwork among the students. “The Hoffman event allowed us to get out of the classroom for a bit and become familiar with each other’s leadership style in an informal setting, which was very important,” described David Schlomi, PRE ’12.
The incoming class visited several real estate projects around the area, giving the class first hand exposure to property types ranging from innovative green developments to upcoming large-scale construction projects. Duane Stiller, Founder and President of Woolbright Development, Inc. and member of the Program in Real Estate’s Advisory Board, gave an exciting and insightful lecture into the world of retail real estate development.
The Class of 2011 met with the Class of 2012 and gave presentations about their summer internships. They described the companies they worked for and explained the responsibilities and tasks they had. After completing internships in industries such as development, investment banking, consulting and other real estate-related firms, the Class of 2011 offered personal insight into the internship process. One thing was made clear: hard work and Cornell connections pay off.
As orientation came to an end, incoming students were assigned advisors that have experience in their fields of interest. The Program in Real Estate Class of 2012 began their start at Cornell University with the full support of faculty and the excitement of new relationships.