Value Companies

Summer Internship Program Offers Invaluable Experience

Andrew Abramson, the president of Value Companies

CLIFTON, N. J., JULY 5, 2007- Value Companies, one of the real estate industry’s leading developers since 1952, is providing Cornell University graduate students with opportunities to learn about the real estate industry from the ground up through the summer internship program it started two years ago with Cornell.

Katherine Hsu, 23, a real estate graduate student of Cornell University’s Masters Program in Real Estate, is looking to gain experience and knowledge of the daily workings of a real estate development company over the course of the 10 week-long program. Hsu said she took advantage of Value’s program when some alumni and professors suggested she apply.

Value Companies created the program believing it could be a win-win situation for both the student and for Value, said Jon Moore, Value’s vice president of development. For the students, hopefully we provide them a fun and constructive summer experience. For Value, we benefit from an injection of some youthful exuberance and talent into the organization each summer. We would also love for these students to come back to Value after graduation. The program is mutually beneficial.”

“Value’s involvement with the Program in Real Estate and commitment to their interns experience is invaluable,” said Dr. David Funk, Director of the Cornell Program, adding, “their leadership, starting with Andy and Jon, has a proven track record of challenging, mentoring, and developing our students.”

Andrew Abramson, the president of Value Companies, a graduate of Cornell and a member of the Cornell Real Estate Council (CREC), one of the largest university-based networks of real estate professionals in the country, said that Value became a preferred employer when it recently became involved in the university’s annual career day and other curriculum events.

A select group of the country’s top real estate firms, including GE Real Estate, Colony Capital, Toll Brothers and others are involved in the program in various capacities. “Value is privileged to be part of Cornell’s masters program in real estate”, notes Moore.

Katherine Hsu(MPS/RE '09)

Hsu, one of about 45 students in Cornell’s graduate real estate program, is applying her textbook understanding to her current internship at Value.

While her daily job responsibilities change each day, they all involve fundamental aspects of real estate, Hsu said. She gets hands-on experience doing real estate forecasting and valuation, as well as in placing calls to real estate research firms to analyze demographics and other trends, she said.

“I want to know how Value makes decisions,” she says. “So I will ask how and why they chose one deal over another.”

Hsu, who is originally from Taipei, Taiwan, says she chose to study in America after realizing that it had a complete and mature development real estate industry that could furnish her with sound real estate knowledge. She chose to attend Cornell because she wanted to gain real world experience by learning the practice of real estate management, economic and investment principles first hand from one of the best programs in the country.

Prior to attending Cornell, Hsu received her bachelor’s degree in land economics with a concentration in real estate management at National Chengchi University in Taiwan. Following her graduation, Hsu plans to seek a full-time position with an east coast real estate development corporation.

About Value Companies

Founded in 1952, Value Companies is a leading real estate development, investment and management company headquartered in Clifton, N. J. The company currently boasts a portfolio exceeding 3,500 residential units located throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Texas and Florida. From suburban master-planned communities to urban infill redevelopment, Value Companies has embarked on $100 million in new development initiatives across the luxury rental, condominium and urban mixed-use sectors.

For more information, please contact Value Companies’ headquarters at: (973) 473-2800 or visit www.valuecos.com.