News Archive
Real Estate Concentration Spotlight
By Jamie Boyle
TAMPA (January 8, 2021) -- Finance students at USF have the opportunity to select one of several concentrations, becoming increasingly popular is the concentration in real estate. Despite the pandemic and its challenges, the program has had great success with job and internship placement for students. This past month students have secured positions with Citi, Savills, and Meritage Homes. Over the past two years, the Real Estate Society at USF has grown from 225 to over 450 students. This student organization helps students to become more aware of the often-overlooked (yet highly lucrative) career opportunities in commercial real estate.
The Real Estate Society at USF is made up of motivated students that have established an advisory board that offers financial support, internships, and jobs for its members. Faculty advisor Greg Smersh notes that, “it is truly amazing how engaged these students are, and the level of commitment that we have from local professionals who are willing to help our students be successful in finding rewarding careers.”
The Real Estate Society at USF is not only growing in members but their network as well. They currently have relationships with a number of local companies such as CBRE, Cushman Wakefield, RMC Property Group, Colliers, CRE Models, Crossman & Company, Sembler, among others. The organization holds networking events and corporate tours that allow students to engage with real estate professionals. The Real Estate Society, along with the Real Estate Decision Making course (REE 3043), and real estate internships all provide hands-on experiential learning that helps their graduates succeed.
Smersh encourages his students to consider real estate and the benefits that come along with it, "there are a lot of great career opportunities in commercial real estate, where (in general) you will have a lot more fun and make a lot more money.” Smersh said recent job offers in real estate for USF graduates have paid far above average – often in the $60K to $70K range.
The Real Estate Society recently announced its new officers for 2021, led by president Brendan Fritz. To learn more about this organization, see their website at www.USFRealEstate.com. The Real Estate Society is open to all USF students, who can join for free at https://usf.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/real-estate-society-at-usf.