Summer internships give students the opportunity to be immersed in the industry and gain crucial knowledge for their careers. Cushman and Wakefield | Thalhimer in Richmond, VA welcomed 8 interns for the summer 2019. Three of those eight students were VT Real Estate students. Raquel de Cardenas, Justin Gravatt and Owen Green, seniors, were given the chance to put their current knowledge to work as well as gain invaluable knowledge for their future careers in the Real Estate Industry.

Each student began their eight-week paid internship by listening to presentations on what Cushman and Wakefield |Thalhimer does and then they were dispersed into their specific departments. There, the student worked alongside seasoned professionals while under the guidance of business line leaders who directed their activities for the duration of the program. Thalhimer offered experiences in the areas of commercial real estate brokerage, commercial and residential property management and investment/development.

de Cardenas’ passion is with commercial property management, specifically sustainability and business design in commercial property management. While at Thalhimer, de Cardenas was able to successfully complete over 600 vendor contracts using Building Engines and assisted property managers in abstracting leases.

“Throughout my time with the Thalhimer team I was able to network and gain exposure to many of the different aspects of the real estate industry. I'm thankful for the opportunity and feel that it has helped build a strong foundation for my entrance into the industry,” de Cardenas said.

Gravatt worked with Thalhimer’s Realty Partners’ development team. Gravatt got to dive into the entire development process as well as researched potential markets and projects for financial feasibility.

“The experience gained through this internship helped solidify my desire to pursue a career in Real Estate Development by allowing me to work with all stages of the process,” Gravatt said. 

Green interned with the Capital Markets group. Green completed six projects underwriting all commercial property types, analyzed cash flows, market cap rates, IRR and cash-on-cash returns to value properties and overcast future values and cash flows.

“Throughout the summer I learned so much about capital markets and valuation of all commercial property types. The internship exceeded my expectations of what I would learn, and everything I learned I will use going forward in my career,” Green said. 

The students got to work with two Program in Real Estate Industry Advisory board members at Cushman and Wakefield |Thalhimer including Curtis Mummau, Senior VP, and Eric Robison, Senior VP of Capital Markets. By providing professional and leadership skills to the Real Estate students, board members opened the doors for incredible opportunities to learn and grow. Green expressed this in his letter to Robinson at the conclusion of his internship:

“Overall, I learned so much about commercial real estate and a lot about myself professionally; my strengths, weaknesses, areas to improve. Seeing your professionalism, leadership, and success on a daily basis was very constructive for me,” Green said.

- written by Hannah Polan