At the fifth Tomorrow’s Real Estate Leaders program, 25 students from colleges and universities around the country met for a 2.5-day virtual diversity, equity, and inclusion program designed to accelerate their future careers in commercial real estate and institutional investing.  

The students met with senior executives from ARA and outside firms, engaged in “College to Career” counseling with young professionals, and participated in a case competition that allowed them to work in groups to make an investment recommendation to a panel of portfolio managers.  

Carly Ragen, a junior at Vanderbilt University, said the case study competition was invaluable, giving her an opportunity to analyze market reports, review an offering memorandum, and think critically about how investors approach transactions.   

“Presenting our case to ARA’s investment committee was an incredible experience,” she said. “I appreciated hearing real-world questions and, while being put on the spot was a little nerve-wracking, it pushed me to think critically and thoughtfully about our analysis and why we believed in the property.” 

The program featured a keynote conversation between ARA’s Chairman and CEO Stanley Iezman and Arturo Sneider, CEO of Primestor Development. The two discussed Primestor’s track record of success investing in underserved communities and the importance of bringing more diversity into the commercial real estate industry.   

Mr. Sneider said, “The diversity in your organization makes you smarter, stronger, faster, a better investor, and a better operator.” 

Students also participated in a broker panel featuring Kelly Johnson, from Cushman & Wakefield, Annie Rice, from JLL, and Eric Cox, from CBRE. They discussed their personal journeys in the industry and offered advice on how the students can get started with a career in real estate.  

Alex Munguia, a senior at the University of Southern California, said Tomorrow’s Real Estate Leaders was the highlight of his semester.  

“I learned so much, not just about the real estate industry, but about leadership and making an impact,” he said. “The program opened my eyes to new possibilities, and I’m really thankful I got to be a part of it.” 

Presenters from ARA included Managing Director of Research and Strategy Sabrina Unger, who spoke on demographics that will drive investment strategy in the next decade, and Director of Corporate Responsibility Dominique Hargreaves, who discussed sustainability in real estate investing.  

ARA’s program director Ivy Holz said she was encouraged by the student engagement and their thoughtful case study presentations.  

“The students wowed our judges panel with their presentations – it felt like we were in an investment committee meeting with seasoned analysts,” she said. “If these students are an indication of the talent coming into the industry, the future of real estate investing looks bright.”