The Center for Real Estate at Cal State Fullerton has experienced tremendous growth over the last 5 years, all noted in this article. This growth is something that I take great pride in, having contributed fresh ideas out of graduation. Here is my story. This all started in 2017 when I ran into the Real Estate Association president. At the time, the organization was facing a potential of shutting down. When I ran into the president, I was offered the position of president. At the time, I decided to start off as the vice president and figure out all of the various functions and then seek the membership’s approval. At the time, they had no official system or connection to the program. To make matters worse, the program had a long and nuanced name, Real Estate and Land Use Institute (also known as RELUI). From there, I knew marketing and program connection was required to draw student interest.
As the vice president, I focused on social media and membership growth. At one point membership reached 35 members, a massive growth from just 4 members. At this point, the membership unanimously voted for me to become the next president. As president, I take great pride in getting the school to approve the annual ICSC Las Vegas convention trip. It has turned into an annual function that students look forward to. In 2018, after I graduated, the Real Estate and Land Use Institute pursued me to become a board member after witnessing the growth in the student organization. I officially accepted the role in January 2019. This is when I pushed the idea of the name changing to Center for Real Estate. In addition, I noted that the same weaknesses with the student organization were also present in the Center. At the time, all the center had was the annual forum, Argus, the alliance with IREM and BOMA, and the connection with SIOR and CREW for scholarships. No official program or concentration existed.
Program
A key component to our program growth was the openness of the faculty and leadership to adopt my ideas. Our program had IREM and BOMA involved, but there was not an official connection to the students. Our program also did not have an agreement with the state for licensure. This is where I stepped in, pushed adding Real Estate Practice and Legal Aspects of Real Estate as courses offered and renamed Introduction to Real Estate to Real Estate Principles to match the state regulator requirements. Then, I started networking with the CCIM Institute and led to the industry partnership. Other partnerships formed include the American Society for Appraisers. In May 2024, I organized the opportunity for the students to participate for the first time in the annual case competition and finished 3rd place out of 15 universities, winning a $2,000 scholarship. Today, our program has all kinds of partners that are directly connected to the program and offers fast tracking various designations, certifications, and licenses. This gauges student interest. At the end of the day, students want to pick a program that has a track of classes and get involved with it.
Student engagement
The Real Estate Association is now connected to the Center for Real Estate. This was my vision from the time I was vice president. Today, the president attends board meetings and shares student concerns. The president also hears our plans and shares it with the students. This keeps students involved and gives the center a gauge for what students are really interested in. The students need jobs, networking opportunities, and experience in formal business settings to help with career perspective and leadership. The Center for Real Estate offers many paths to connect students with our partners.
Scholarships
Steve Haddadin Student Travel Endowment Fund
The purpose of this fund is to reimburse students that attend the annual ICSC RECon Conference in Las Vegas. This fund was established by board member Steve Haddadin to ensure continuity of this annual function that he started in 2018 as REA President. To support the fund, see link.
CREW OC Scholarship
The CREW Orange County Chapter created a scholarship program in 2015 to support future female leaders as they pursue university-level education that will lead to careers in commercial real estate. This $5,000 scholarship is awarded annually to an Orange County undergraduate or graduate student whose focus of study is included in one or more of CREW Network’s qualified fields of commercial real estate.
SIOR SoCal Scholarship
The Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR) established the Keith Wilson Memorial Scholarship, a scholarship program to encourage and assist qualified students in obtaining an education that will lead them into productive careers in the commercial real estate industry. Funds for scholarships of $2,000.00 each have been allocated.
Real Estate Scholarship and Internship Grant
The Scholarships and Internship Grants are funded by the State of California Department of Real Estate through an endowment with the California State University Real Estate and Land Use Institute. It is open to all majors with an interest in a career in real estate. Under the internship option, students may receive an award for an unpaid internship in which they are participating.
A call for support
At this point, the Center for Real Estate has everything needed to become one of the best facilities in the United States for Real Estate education. We are in need of funds and more community support. We need to ramp up our marketing efforts. I am calling for the industry to support the program. Supporting this program will form future leaders for your organization.
In conclusion, I look at this program with great pride and I will always do anything it takes to make it a better program. My leadership skills were developed through all of this development. Dealing with some opposition, learning how to persuade people, and getting people to work with me was not something I was born with. Now, as an entrepreneur, I am applying this experience to my business and any other business I am tasked to run or business that I start. Giving back before I had something to show for is my story. My message is if you want to help, do not wait until you are successful. Getting involved in a capacity that you are able to at the moment will pay you back with experience. This is also a message for organizations to take in graduates who are young, fresh talent that can give your organization a new vision. Use my story as an example to get involved with the program, support the program, and hiring our graduates to help your organization.
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