Faizan Qureshi is a MBA student from just outside the District in Manassas, Virginia. He graduated Cum Laude with a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech in 2012, and has worked at Clark Construction in construction management for four years and Cushman & Wakefield for two years.
Why did you pick Georgetown McDonough to pursue your MBA?
A: I was looking for a Top-25 MBA program with a dedicated real estate
center anchored in a gateway real estate market, which quickly narrowed down the pool of potential schools. When speaking with Professor Cypher as a prospective student, his emphasis on obtaining practical experience to complement Georgetown’s classroom teaching made a lot of sense since real estate is an applied field. Students at Georgetown Steers have the opportunity to intern during the school year with local firms, and oftentimes land some of the most coveted internships in the industry. Practical courses such as the Real Estate Clinic as well as CRE 101 seminars taught by industry professionals have provided a practical hands-on real estate education. A key part of choosing a business school is the alumni network it unlocks, and Georgetown’s is incredibly deep in real estate. Hoyas are represented at almost every top investment and development firm in every major US market. Through my time at McDonough, I have had a multitude of opportunities to tap into this network, whether it was treks to different cities such as London or the Bay Area or on-campus information sessions and visits with local firms.
Where will you be interning this summer and what will you generally be doing?
A: I will be joining Tishman Speyer’s Leadership Development Program in New York City. My group assignment won’t come until closer to the summer, but I am hoping to earn a full-time offer after the summer and rotate amongst the firm’s different groups.
What has been the highlight of your involvement at Georgetown McDonough thus far?
A: I am also an InSITE Fellow, which is an organization that connects graduate students with local startups on semester-long consulting projects. My interests include proptech and real estate entrepreneurship; last semester I sent a cold-email to a co-founder of WhyHotel, a local startup that operates pop-up hotels in pre-leased units at new multifamily developments. I was able to land them as part of this semester’s cohort of startups and am currently leading a project for them that entails creation of a loyalty program. The project is at the intersection of my interests in real estate development and startups, and I believe the company will be a major disruptor in unlocking flexibility from static real estate assets.
What is your tentative plan following graduation in May 2020?
A: I hope to join Tishman Speyer full-time as part of the Leadership Development Program rotation. I am eager to work in different geographies and groups to become a well-rounded real estate professional, and my long-term goal is to come back to DC and focus on local development.