What led you to your current position?
I am currently a Director of Lodging Development at Marriott International responsible for growing the distribution of our Select Service Brands in the Southeastern United State and Canada. Before attending Georgetown, I worked at Marriott in Corporate Strategy. I came to the McDonough School of Business because I wanted to build a foundational understanding of CRE to better position myself for a career in Development after graduation. My past experience in hospitality combined with the skill set and real estate knowledge I learned at McDonough helped make me uniquely qualified for my current position.
Why did you choose to get involved with the Steers Center?
I specifically chose to attend Georgetown MSB because of the Steers Center. The Steers Center provides students with a holistic commercial real estate education, including classroom training, professional development, and practical experience. Furthermore, its location in the heart of Washington, DC one of the premier Gateway Real Estate markets on the east coasts provides the unique opportunity to interact with top real estate firms on their home turf throughout the entire year.
As a Georgetown graduate, how do you see the work of the Steers Center fitting in with the Georgetown student experience?
The Steers Center was the center of my experience at Georgetown. Academically I was focused on taking coursework led by Steers Center faculty. Outside of the classroom, Steers Center events such as site tours, career treks, and informational panels helped to shape my career focus. Socially, many of my Steers Center classmates because my friends, and to this day are some of my best real estate connections. I continue to work with and benefit from the power of the Georgetown alumni network
What advice do you have for prospective students interested in real estate?
My best advice is to deliberately build your networking plan. It’s important to be in front of the right person at the right time in your career search, and not too early. Every conversation you have will be accretive to the next one. Start with your classmates, build up to young alumni, learn about different roles within CRE, key industry terms and trends, carry those into your next conversation. By the time you’re speaking with firm principals and decision makers you’ll have the experience and the knowledge to ask the rights questions and stand out in the interview process.