June 6, 2018
Dear Board Members,
The Spring semester of the 2017/2018 academic year was busy and productive for the Harvard Student Real Estate Consortium (HSREC)–affiliated schools, the College, the Graduate School of Design, and the Business, Law, and Kennedy Schools. The board’s calendar of student programming touched hundreds of Harvard students and added depth and breadth to the board’s student-facing mission of enhancing the experience of those studying real estate at the University. Highlights of the second semester include:
Harvard/MIT Real Estate Career Day
Sponsor: Chuck Berman, MBA ’79, BedRock Real Estate Partners
A collaboration between the Center for Real Estate at MIT, the board, and Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, Real Estate Career Day is curated to expose students to the diversity of employment opportunities in the real estate sector, while giving students the chance to ask questions of and network with alumni of both universities working in the industry.
ARGUS Training
Sponsor: Brian Coulter, MBA ’86, JBG Smith
The ARGUS Workshop, part of the board’s skills-based training, combines lectures with hands-on experience and is intended to complement Harvard’s real estate curriculum. Beyond traditional skills-based learning, the workshop provides the opportunity for students from across campus to engage in peer-to-peer networking, allowing those in attendance to forge and expand relationships with fellow students from diverse disciplines and build robust networks that will serve them both in their time at the University and during their careers in the real estate industry.
Student/Alumni-Practitioner Dinners
Sponsor: Stuart Jones, AB ’77, American Brownfields Corp.
Alumni working in real estate are invited to campus to act as catalysts for conversation and provide face-to-face mentorship. Practitioners are encouraged to detail how their time at the University prepared them for working in the industry, describe their career trajectories, and speak to specific projects. Students ask questions as the speakers narrate their experiences (good and bad). The guidance offered by alums — who understand, through firsthand experience, the issues and concerns students face — is invaluable to the students in attendance.
Office Hours and Employment Portal
Sponsor: Kris Miller, AB ’87, Ackerman & Co.
Both Office Hours and the Employment Portal are programming elements that the board piloted during the 2017/2018 academic year. Office Hours allow students to meet with the Executive Director of the board to find solutions to issues facing them and to converse about board-related programming, including internships, full-time employment, and HSREC educational and networking events.
The Employment Portal was launched to respond to the students’ most commonly expressed need, jobs, and internships in the real estate industry. This hub, a valuable resource for students, hosts searchable permanent, part-time, and summer public- and private-sector real estate positions, allowing students studying for careers in real estate to efficiently identify companies that are recruiting candidates for summer internships and post-graduation employment.
The impact of this programming is felt across campus. Students are excited and grateful for the extracurricular programming the board provides and the real estate community that the board has helped foster. Harvard student real estate–related programming would not be possible without the board. On behalf of HSREC, we would like to thank each of you for your continued generosity. We would like to give a special thanks to Chuck, Brian, Stuart, and Kris for their generous Sustainer-Level gifts that helped to underwrite this programming.
If there are any questions, thoughts, or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Matt Ciccotti, MDes Real Estate ’15 Cynthia Henshall
Chair, Harvard Student Real Estate Consortium Executive Director
Harvard Alumni Real Estate Board Harvard Alumni Real Estate Board
