January 15, 2019
Dear Board Members,
As we turn the page on the first semester of the 2018/2019 academic year, the board’s impact on Harvard Student Real Estate Consortium (HSREC)-affiliated students from the College, the Graduate School of Design, and the Business, Law, and Kennedy Schools continues. We are excited to report that the student real estate community's response to the board-sponsored programming has garnered excitement and growth.
HSREC programming is provided entirely through board support. Such events provide essential support for students to broaden and achieve their academic and professional goals. We would like to give our sincere thanks to each of you for your continued commitment to Harvard’s real estate students - participating in on-campus lectures, opening your offices to treks, participating in informational interviews, graciously sharing your networks, and beyond. We would like to extend a special thank-you to the board's Corporate- and Sustainer-level givers, including Stuart Jones, Michael Colacino, Chuck Berman, Brain Ward, and Richard Kessler, whose generous contributions have made the board’s ambitious Fall 2018 calendar of HSREC programming possible. Highlights are outlined below.
Building a Career in Real Estate
Sponsor: Stuart Jones, AB '77, American Brownfields Corp.
As students settled in to academic year, board-sponsored HSREC programming began with a new addition to the event calendar, "Building a Career in Real Estate." This standing-room-only workshop was led by board member Kristen Hunter (AB '92, MDes Real Estate '10) and Harvard Graduate School of Design faculty member Frank Apeseche. The event was launched in response to a direct request from the HSREC community to provide students an in-depth understanding of various sectors in the industry, the building blocks to develop a powerful resume, and strategies to forge a successful career in real estate.
Real Estate Career Treks
Real Estate Career Treks focus on bringing students to visit, make direct connections with, and learn about business models and market conditions from industry leaders in specific geographies. With more interest among students than a trek can accommodate, the 2018/2019 academic year marks the first instance when the board will offer treks to Boston and New York during both the fall and spring semesters.
Boston Real Estate Career Trek
Sponsor: Michael Colacino, AB '79, Savills Studley
The Boston Trek was an exceptional opportunity for HSREC participants to gain in-depth insight and expand their networks within Boston’s real estate community. Students gained a deeper understanding of the landscape of Boston’s real estate community by visiting alumni at a mix of private equity firms and developers. Stops included Bain Capital, TA Realty, Boston Properties, Leggat McCall, Related-Beal, and Samuels & Associates.
New York Real Estate Career Trek
Sponsor: Chuck Berman, MBA '79, BedRock Real Estate Partners, LLC
Real-estate immersion in New York City gave HSREC attendees a better sense of New York’s real estate ecosystem and the chance to visit with several board members. Onay Payne (AB '97, MBA '03) and Donald Sheets (MBA '06) at Clarion Partners, David Himmel (MBA '14) at Jamestown, Michael Krupa (MBA '89) of Gemdale USA took students for a tour of OMA-designed 121 East 22nd - a joint venture between Gemdale and Fred Cooper (MPP '84), Toll Brothers, Inc. Students also visited Harvard alumni at the offices of Tishman Speyer, Cadre, Hines, and OTO Development.
Alumni/Student Networking Reception
Sponsor: Brain Ward, Trimont Real Estate Advisors
At the conclusion of the New York Career Trek, over 75 students, board members, and alums gathered for a lively networking reception. A student favorite, the reception gives students the opportunity to make connection, build on existing relationships, and gain exposure to prospective employers in the city that houses the largest number of Harvard alums working in real estate.
Real Estate Financial Modeling
Sponsor: Richard Kessler, AMDP '02, Beneson Capital Partners
The first in a series of on-campus student-facing trainings for the 2018/2019 academic year, the Real Estate Financial Modeling training combines lectures with hands-on exercises to help students advance their financial modeling knowledge, tools, and skills to successfully model transactions.
The balance of the Fall's HSREC programming included sold-out real-estate treks to Chicago, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore, spirited bimonthly peer-to-peer mixers, mentoring breakfasts, and resume reviews, as well as financial support for a student team to compete in the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council's Inaugural Debt Case Competition in New York.
On behalf of the student real-estate community, thank you for your continued generosity.
All the best in the New Year!
Matt Ciccotti, MDes Real Estate '15
Chair, Harvard Student Real Estate Consortium
Harvard Alumni Real Estate Board
mc@livwrk.com
Cynthia Henshall
Executive Director
Harvard Alumni Real Estate Board
cynthiah@harvardareb.org
