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2005 PREA Real Estate Scholarship Winners

The Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) wishes to congratulate the following 2005 winners of the PREA Scholarship Award. This year the program has been increased to $60,000 with the following distribution.
  1. $30,000 was awarded to graduate students majoring or concentrating in real estate.
  2. $10,000 was awarded to undergraduate students majoring in real estate.
  3. $20,000 was awarded to the Robert A. Toigo Foundation to create a PREA/Toigo scholarship for minority students planning to pursue a career in investment real estate.

Our PREA Scholarship was quite successful again this year. We had numerous submissions from most of the top real estate schools in the country. Competition was stiff, with many high quality essays. Scholarship recipients were selected by the scholarship committee.

PREA would like to thank the scholarship committee for coordinating the contest and selecting the finalists, and the students who participated this year.

The 2005 PREA Scholarships recipients are:

The 2005 PREA/TOIGO Foundation Scholarship recipients are:

Garritt R. Bader, University of Florida
Garritt will graduate in May 2006 with a Master of Science in Real Estate (MSRE) degree from the University of Florida. In addition to being a licensed real estate salesperson and a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, he is an elected member of the MSRE Student Executive Committee. Prior to attending the University of Florida, he worked for a developer specializing in office and retail properties as well as for a commercial real estate brokerage. Garritt graduated from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a minor in Business Administration in 2003.

William Bennett, Northwestern University
William is working on an independent study course through Kellogg to advise a client on the optional development strategy for a $75 million dollar land holding in South Florida. His summer internship at Sterling Real Estate Partners was focused on deal sourcing and the financial analysis of joint-venture partner transactions. He plans to work for an opportunity fund after graduation in June 2006.

Clifford Chandler, Harvard Business School
Clifford is currently a second-year M.B.A. student at the Harvard Business School, where his studies are focused on real estate and finance. He is the Inter-organizational Director for the Real Estate Club and is actively involved in the Harvard Student Real Estate Consortium (HSREC). He is the HBS Team Leader for the 2005 National Real Estate Challenge at the University of Texas at Austin. During the summer of 2005, Chandler interned at The Pederson Group, a prominent owner, developer and manager of premier retail and mixed-use developments in Arizona. Upon graduation, his ambition is to pursue a career in real estate development and investment. Prior to business school, Chandler worked as a Project Manager for O Hill Properties, a private development firm specializing in retail, premier golf property and luxury residential redevelopment projects in Southern California. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of San Diego with a Bachelor of Business Administration in 2000.

Steven Edwards, University of Texas, Austin
This year Steven is serving as President of the Undergraduate Real Estate Society in addition to his involvement in other organizations including Entrepreneur Society, Terry Student Scholars Association and Texas Iron Spikes. Moreover, he is a student member of the Urban Land Institute and the Real Estate Council of Austin. This past spring, Steven had the opportunity to be a member of the McCombs School of Business team that competed against other top-tier institutions in the inaugural National Undergraduate Real Estate Case Competition at the University of Southern California. Outside of school, he interns for CBRE Melody, the investment banking arm of CB Richard Ellis, performing market research and basic financial underwriting. Academically, Steve will be graduating from the undergraduate program within the Red McCombs School of Business in May of 2006 and subsequently looking to begin a career in the real estate private equity and development arena.

Zsuzsa Huszar, University of Kentucky
Zsuzsa is currently working on her PhD in the area of Finance with Real Estate interest at the University of Kentucky. In the last two years, she was actively engaged in various private and public real estate research projects in the Lexington area as a research assistant at the Center for Real Estate Studies at the University of Kentucky. Zsuzsa completed a Master of Science in Real Estate Investment and Management at Napier University in the United Kingdom where, in her master thesis, she focused on the question of how the quality of the area impacts house prices across Europe. She completed her undergraduate education in civil engineering at Szent Istvan University in Hungary. She was awarded two European Commission Scholarships to study real estate in Sweden and spent six months at the European Commission in Luxemburg. Zsuzsa is interested in real estate investment on an international scale and speaks five languages fluently.

Brian D. Milovich, University of California, Berkeley
Brian is currently a second-year M.B.A. student with a concentration in real estate at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business. He is currently the Co-President of the Berkeley Real Estate Club and is an active member of the Urban Equity Group at MetLife Real Estate Investments in San Francisco, California. There, he analyzed potential acquisition opportunities and assisted in the disposition of a major asset. Upon graduation in May 2006, he intends to pursue a career in real estate investment and development. Prior to business school, Brian worked as an Assistant Vice President in Commercial Banking at Wells Fargo Bank, St. Paul, Minnesota. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Science in Business in 2000.

Adam Monroe, University of South Carolina, Columbia
Adam is currently studying real estate at the University of South Carolina. He recently earned his South Carolina Real Estate Sales license. His recent internships include working for Beacon Construction, where he traveled to on-site developments to provide labor and progress input to the contractor. He also interned for Greystar Real Estate Partners, researching and preparing reference materials for 1031 exchange programs. After graduation, Adam plans to hold a finance/real estate related job for approximately two years before pursuing an MBA. Within five to seven years of earning his MBA, he hopes to start a multi-faceted real estate investment/development firm in the Southeast and perhaps a resort development in Central America.

Ryan Prince, Cornell University
Ryan Prince is currently enrolled in the Johnson School MBA program at Cornell University. He is enrolled in the Research, Sales and Trading Immersion and intends on pursuing a career in Asset Management with an emphasis on Real Estate Assets and REIT equity securities. This summer, he will be working with a market neutral equity fund focused on REIT and homebuilders’ securities. Before beginning graduate studies, he worked for an economic consulting firm specializing in regional economic forecasting and real estate market analysis. Ryan completed undergraduate and graduate degrees in Political Science and Urban Planning, at SUNY Fredonia and Cleveland State University, respectively.

Brittanie Rockhill, University of Denver
Brittanie is currently in her third year of undergraduate studies in the Daniels School of Business at the University of Denver. She is a concurrent double major in International Business and Real Estate, with International Studies and Spanish minors. Brittanie is studying this semester at the Universidad Autónoma de Yucatan in Mérida, Mexico. She speaks Spanish fluently and is involved in the International Living and Learning Community at DU. She is a member of the Programming Board, an Officer in the Spanish Club, and an Orientation Leader. Upon her return to the United States, she will be looking for an internship with a connection to International Real Estate.

Greg Rozolsky, University of Connecticut
Greg is currently a senior undergraduate student at the University of Connecticut and is majoring in finance with a concentration in real estate/urban economics. He is actively involved with the UConn Center for Real Estate and is President of the Real Estate Society. He is a member of the University's Honors Program and a manager in the Student Managed Fund, an organization managing $1 million dollars in U.S. equities for the UConn Foundation. During the summer of 2005, Greg interned at ING Clarion, a real estate investment management firm with approximately $24 billion dollars in assets under management. He also has internship experience with L.J. Melody & Company, the real estate investment banking arm of CB Richard Ellis. Upon graduation in May 2006, Greg intends to pursue a career in commercial real estate lending or investment.

Charu Singh, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Charu is a second year dual-degree graduate student in urban planning and real estate development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In her academic studies, she has focused on avenues to facilitate green building in the real estate industry and methods to bring brownfield properties into redevelopment. In addition, she works at Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation, working on retail development projects and researching green building technologies appropriate for affordable housing. Prior to her graduate studies, Charu worked in community development in low-income urban communities.

Irina Vinshtok, New York University
Irina is currently a second-year, full-time graduate student, pursuing her M.S. in real estate at the Real Estate Institute at New York University, majoring in Finance and Investments. In addition to her graduate studies, she is presently continuing her work at TIAA-CREF Real Estate Commercial Mortgage Group as part of the East Coast New Loan Origination Team on a part-time basis. Irina began her career at TIAA-CREF as a summer associate in June of 2005 in the Real Estate Commercial Mortgage Group as part of the West Coast New Loan Origination Team. Prior to attending graduate school, her previous job consisted of providing financial consulting to private equity funds at Credit Suisse First Boston. During three years of employment, being fascinated by commercial real estate, she specifically focused on methods of raising money from wealthy individuals through a combination of cash, equity, and loans as well as on investments valuation. Irina graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in seven academic semesters with a perfect GPA, obtaining a B.S. in Management and dual minors in Economics and Accounting. She is fluent in Russian and Ukrainian.

Natalie Eckford, Harvard Business School
Natalie Eckford is a 2006 MBA candidate at Harvard Business School (HBS) and a Robert Toigo Foundation fellow. During the 2005 summer, Natalie worked on both the public and private sides of real estate equity, splitting her summer between CalSTRS's Real Estate Investment Group and BlackRock Realty's Acquisitions Group. Prior to entering HBS she worked as an analyst in Merrill Lynch's Real Estate Investment Banking organization and as a senior analyst in MCI Worldcom's SkyTel Planning Group.

At HBS, Natalie serves as the Co-President of the African-American Student Union. She was awarded the Pepsi Co Fitzhugh Fellowship and recognized for her work with the Junior Achievement Foundation as an Arthur Little Fellow. She was also selected to sit on the Board of Directors for a national non-profit organization as an HBS Board Fellow. Her on-campus activities include the Real Estate Club, Private Equity/Venture Capital Club and 2006 HBS Show cast member. Outside of HBS, Natalie remains very committed to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, previously serving as co-chair of the 2004 Racquets for the Cure Benefit in Jackson, Mississippi.

Natalie graduated magna cum laude from Spelman College in 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.

Pearie Foster, Cornell University
Pearie Foster is a member of the Class of 2006 pursuing her MBA at Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management focusing her studies on real estate and finance. She is a Robert Toigo Fellow and has a full merit scholarship sponsored by J.P. Morgan Chase.

During the summer of 2005, she interned with Jones Lang LaSalle, were she worked directly with the Investor Services Group assisting in lease negotiations, analytical analysis and management. She also gained exposure to other areas of the firm, LaSalle Investment Management and Capital Markets. From 2001 through 2003, she was employed as a financial analyst with Goldman Sachs.

Ms. Foster is a member of Old Ezra Finance Club, Johnson Admissions Group, Black Graduate Business Association, Camp $tart Up, and an Executive Board Member of Community Impact. She holds a B.S. in finance from Villanova University where she was a recipient of the St. Martin de Porres scholarship for academic excellence.

Nakeyshia Kendall, Wharton School of Business
Nakeyshia Kendall is a 2006 MBA candidate at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and a Robert Toigo Foundation Fellow. Ms. Kendall spent her summer at Lehman Brothers in the Global Real Estate Group, splitting her summer between the firms' Lines of Credit and Large Loan Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities (CMBS) Underwriting businesses.

Pursuing a dual degree in Real Estate and Finance, she is actively involved in Wharton's Real Estate Club and the African-American MBA Association. This coming year, Ms. Kendall will lead the AAMBAA's career preparation effort and will organize workshops to enable first year students to better face the challenges of summer internship recruiting.

Ms Kendall is a Shils-Zeidman Entrepreneurial and Joseph Wharton Fellow as well as a Robert Toigo Foundation Fellow. Both awards are merit fellowships awarded to students who have demonstrated academic and professional excellence. Ms. Kendall has earned a BA in Urban Studies from Columbia College, Columbia University.

William M. Messer, Wharton School of Business
William M. Messer is a 2006 MBA candidate at the Wharton School. William is a recipient of both the Joseph A. Wharton Fellowship and a Robert Toigo Foundation Fellow. A 1999 graduate of Wesleyan University, William is a former Student Trustee on Wesleyan's Board of Trustees.

This summer, William interned with Heritage Building Group, Inc., a privately-held real estate developer in land and residential real estate development. Prior to Wharton, William's professional experiences included a business development role with Irides, LLC, a Washington, DC, based privately-held Web hosting and Internet access company. William also worked in investment banking with Citigroup, Inc and Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.

William is also a Kaplan GMAT Instructor. In his spare time, William enjoys architecture, automotive research, music, and NESCAC football.

Sarang Peruri, Wharton School of Business
Sarang is a member of the Class of 2006 pursuing his MBA at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania concentrating in Real Estate and Finance. He is a Robert Toigo Foundation Fellow. During his first year he organized the Chicago Job Trek for the Real Estate Club and helped put together the "Hoop It Up For the Homeless" charity basketball tournament as an elected Community Service Representative of his cohort.

Sarang received a BS in Finance, with highest honors, from the College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as well as a General Course Certificate from the London School of Economics.

This summer, Sarang split his time at two internships. He started at GE Real Estate in Chicago focusing on Asset Management. Subsequently, he worked at Chicago-based Blue Vista Capital Partners focusing primarily on real estate private equity.

Prior to business school Sarang worked in investment banking at Morgan Stanley and later served various functions at Time Warner. He also spent much of his time co-founding and running the Young Business Leaders Initiative, a non-profit organization, which organizes business fundamentals classes at multiple Manhattan high schools and recruits volunteers from local investment banks.

Kevin Pleasant, UCLA Anderson
Kevin Pleasant, was raised in Southern California, and received his BA in economics from Stanford University in 1999. Upon graduation, Kevin moved to New York City and joined Deutsche Bank AG as a money market trader. In this role, Kevin was responsible for managing the $20 billion overnight investment portion of the organization's 2a- 7 money market mutual funds. In 2002, Kevin left Deutsche to join Moody's Investors Service's Real Estate Finance Group. With Moody's, Kevin tracked the credit statistics and fundamentals of over 25 multi-family and lodging real estate investment trusts (REITs).

As a way of giving back to his community Kevin has volunteered and assumed various leadership roles with a number of organizations which include Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT), Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO), the Accounting Career Awareness Program (ACAP), and The Riordon Fellows Program.

While getting his MBA in Finance and Real Estate at Anderson, Kevin interned with GE Real Estate's Asset Management Division. After completing his MBA in 2006, Kevin hopes to work in urban redevelopment. Kevin is also a Robert Toigo Foundation Fellow.

Kenyattah Robinson, Cornell University
Kenyattah Robinson is a candidate for an MBA in 2006 at Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management. A fellow with the Robert Toigo Foundation, Kenyattah worked as an MBA summer intern at AEW Capital Management in Boston where he was responsible for underwriting commercial real estate acquisitions. As a Roy H. Park Leadership Fellow, Kenyattah is slated in 2005-2006 to advise the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency on strategies to increase the number of local minority businesses.

A native of New Orleans, Kenyattah earned a bachelor of arts from Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge. He supplemented his education with internships at the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency, on Capital Hill, and at the White House. Kenyattah also was awarded the Dr. Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award and named one of 25 participants in Leadership LSU.

Prior to business school, Kenyattah lived in Washington, DC where he most recently worked for Fannie Mae. He also held jobs in the Office of U.S. Senator John Breaux (D-LA) and at Fenton Communications, a public interest advertising and PR firm.

Kenyattah is an Eagle Scout and was actively involved in mentoring and tutoring when he lived in Washington, DC.

T. Justin Williams, Stanford University
T. Justin Williams is a Robert Toigo Foundation fellow and is currently pursuing an MBA at Stanford's Graduate School of Business, which he will complete in 2006.

Mr. Williams cultivated his passion for real estate during his first year of business school when he competed with the Stanford team (final round medalists) in the 2004 U.T. Austin National Real Estate Challenge. He has since written a business plan with two classmates to create a construction firm and was also elected Co-President of the Real Estate Club.

During the summer of 2005, Mr. Williams worked as a Rotational Summer Associate with Jones Lang LaSalle in its Tenant Representation, Strategic Consulting and Investment Management groups. He also worked as a Summer Associate with Hines on several real estate development projects.

Prior to pursuing his M.B.A., Mr. Williams served as a Divisional Financial Analyst with DaVita, a healthcare (dialysis) services provider, and as a Project Manager with Growthink, a technology consulting company. Previously, Mr. Williams held the position of Financial Analyst with Salomon Smith Barney's Telecom High Yield Group. He received his B.A. from Stanford University in 1999.