Dear SIOR Members and Friends,
It may be summer, but your SIOR Foundation does not take a vacation! The heat is definitely on!
Since the Spring Conference, the Foundation has given out over $70,000 in grants to SIOR Chapters and partners.
One grant that is near and dear to me is the NEXUS Summer Program that was held in July at Cornell University. The SIOR Foundation, in partnership with SIOR and the Real Estate Executive Council (REEC), sponsored a two-week immersive program for gifted and talented high school juniors and seniors. The program—designed to close the opportunity-gap faced by many students across the country—introduced commercial real estate and all its components to students deciding what career path to follow and where to further their education. The NEXUS program also offers classes that provide the tools needed to succeed in college.
I was fortunate to be able to participate in the program as a presenter for the opening session.
Laurie Tylenda, SIOR, and I partnered together in a session designed to introduce the students to the wide variety of opportunities available in commercial real estate. The students were amazingly engaged! I was surprised at both the amount and depth of the questions they asked—they kept Laurie and me on our toes!
While preparing for the session, I was reminded of the depth of CRE, and how many avenues of success there are beyond brokerage. Exposing the students to all these options reaches beyond CRE. The NEXUS program is more than simply engaging diverse students; this is about improving the future of our industry and the world!
Following tours of retail properties in various stages of success, the students were asked to prepare a presentation, acting as the broker/developer. They used all that they had learned about the industry to present their options of how to revitalize a dying property to the “owner”.SIOR volunteers also included David Schiller, SIOR—a fellow SIOR Foundation Trustee, who not only taught a session with Laurie on the role of brokers in commercial sales, but also hosted the students for lunch at the offices of Cushman & Wakefield/Pyramid Brokerage Company following their tour of Destiny USA. Amy Broadhurst, SIOR, and Pat Sentner, SIOR, volunteered as coaches for the students as they worked on their presentations, and Marc Duclos, SIOR, closed out the program on the final day.
A huge thank you to all who volunteered their time and expertise! By all accounts, the program was a huge success. It highlighted commercial real estate as a viable career option and exemplifies SIOR and the SIOR Foundation’s commitment to expanding diversity in the CRE industry. I am looking forwarded to seeing all of the great work and the success that the NEXUS students will have in their futures.
Sincerely,
Aaron (A-A-Ron) Barnard, SIOR
952.465.3372
aaron.barnard@cushwake.com