Hi, my name's tuition though I graduated with a class of 2019 as a hospitality industry management major, HSI, um, for short, and a minor in Management Information Systems. So during my senior year, I started kind of exploring what business major I wanted to pursue. And I kinda sort of just stumbled upon the realm of hospitality. And when I was doing research on hospitality programs are found at the University of Delaware. And I was immediately drawn to this program because it offers flexibility and individuality which a lot of programs don't offer. And it's actually one of the few undergraduate programs that actually allow you to choose your own focus study. So being like a huge fan of HGTV and kinda all those real estate shows. It was kind of a no brainer for me to focus and real estate and finance. And why does that you participated mainly in the clubs sailing team. And when I first got to U DU is important to me to kind of find an outlet outside of school and regular class friends and stuff like that. So that's kinda why I was very interested in finding a sport or a club to get involved with things just happen to be sailing because I grew up sailing, but it was kinda one of those things I don't want to get better at and explore more. And it was another great, Just as one of those outlets where you actually get to get off campus. And as a freshman, you spend so much time like in your dorm or in class and stuff like that, you never really leave the University of Delaware. So it's kinda nice to get off campus, even if those just for a couple hours, couple of times a week. And when I was at UD, I took a multitude of classes, a lot of hospitality classes. And because my focus study, I was allowed to take a lot of finance and economic classes which you wouldn't have normally. That's kinda the interesting part of that hospitality industry management as you can really make the major what you want it to be. I'm, I had friends also in the major who wanted to focus more on the marketing side or on the on the, on the healthcare side on data, stuff like that. So it really depends what you actually want to do. And that's why that major is nice because it gives you the option to explore what you really want to do. And why is that? Ud I did hold some internships. My first one was at a sales office for a large corporation, about 30000 people. My next internship was in event marketing, a little bit smaller, 15 to 20 thousand people. And then I stumbled my way into a conference representing Udi at the America lodging investment summit in Los Angeles. And I was just having a normal conversation with some woman and night. I was interested in your company because I learned about them in class. And a few months later I found myself moving Tennessee for the summer to work for a data analytic company, which was much smaller, about 300. So it was a big shift coming from these 2030 thousand employee companies now to 200. And that's kinda when I had the realization that I started to like smaller companies. Or when you kinda learn this through your internships is yes, you kinda learn more about what you want to do and what you don't want to do. But it's really best to figure out what kind of environment you want to be in, whether it's a large company or small company, private, publicly traded, et cetera. So after having those kind of three experiences, I then was able to get an internship at a company called ellen WA which is a real estate development company based in Wilmington. And I got that through Donna laws and other people at the hospitality program who kind of knew of the company and introduced me to them. And I kinda work there my senior year and it was such a good fit that I ended up being offered a position there after graduation. So I currently still work at L and W i as a real estate development associate. My roles or foreign? My rosary. I currently work as a real estate development associated WAIR mainly assist with hotel development, but I also do a little bit of work with our affordable housing management side. So the best part about my job and specifically the real estate development industry is no two days look the same. So just kinda the nature of real estate project as it could take anywhere from, you know, three to five years to actually from, from concept, idea to actual building a building. So, you know, as you go through the process of building a new property, the stages and the work that you're doing each month, each day kinda change as the project progresses. So some days I'll just be doing a lot of financial analysis and investment returns and stuff like that. Other days I could be on meetings with our investors and with our banking partners. And then other days I could just be on a construction site, walking around, looking at progress or meeting with architects and engineers. So it really allows you to kinda Do a little bit of every single industry because you do work with engineers, you work with architects who work at the interior designers, work with hotel operators are. So it's really, you're exposed to a large ride to people working in the real estate development industry. And just something to know if you do or are interested in real estate development tree is there is a pretty steep learning curve. And it is a long learning curve. And especially some younger people struggle with the fact that there's not that necessarily immediate gratification because projects are three to five years long. You could be doing all this work day in, day out, not see the results until the projects actually complete. So that's kinda what I was warned about going into the industry is to focus on the big picture and the day, two days, you will see your work. It'll just take a little bit longer. And also, because projects are so long, you will learn as a progress progresses. So it's not one of these jobs or you can just jump into and then a month or two, you have to do. It's more after three to five years, you kinda then understand the processes and what comes next and what you need to do, what, what projects are supposed to look like. So that's kind of the best advice I can give you to that end. It is, it can be tricky to find internships specifically in real estate development. I was given the piece of advice to find somewhere you want to work in OT just asked if he could shadow or or just, you know, go along to some meetings or stuff like that. And the same piece of advice I got from someone was sometimes it's better to have accompany make a position for you rather than applying to an open position. Because a lot of times if you want to enter the real estate development injury, especially post graduation, you'll find a lot of them look for three to five years of experience, master's degrees, et cetera. And I kinda got lucky because I interned there. So we already rises a good fit for the team. So it's really just talking to people and getting as much experience. And even if even if it's not a paid job and it's just an opportunity to spend some time with the company are learning about how they do things that still beneficial. Because if you don't necessarily get an opportunity from then, you then have more experiences to talk about. So if you don't necessarily have the qualifications, then you could talk about it with someone else who might, who might have an opportunity for you. And the progression in the industry kind of varies from company to company. So my companies maybe slightly difference, but I always thought about my job more as an apprenticeship. So as a real estate development associated, we kind of work for lead developers who run who lead the projects. And we worked for them for the first three to five years of our career where we gain experience, learn from them, help them out with their projects, stuff like that. And kinda the next progression from that is you start taking on your own initiatives. So I've been with my company for about three years now. So now I'm starting to get my own projects Within a project. For example, we just built a new hotel on Jekyll Island, Georgia. And one of my responsibilities was to figure out how to, you know, build a dune cross over and ensure that it was ADA compliant and stuff like that. So it starts kinda gradual or you get these little pieces of larger projects. And as you get more experience, you'll eventually lead your own projects. So it's not a, it's not necessarily a clear progression like a lot of other industries. This one, it's kind of more just learning, learning until you're ready and then you just take on little bits of information and do a little bit more projects and stuff like that. Never stop being curious. Told me this a while ago and I kinda take it true to heart, if you're a curious individually, always be looking to better understand things and that, that causes you to push your boundaries and, and think about things you normally would in or, or try and learn a concept that you'd never eyes would. So being a business major, I never really got into engineering, architecture and stuff like that and construction. But after being in the industry for two or three years and just my natural curiosity, you kind of learn about construction techniques and things that are right and wrong about engineering and what works, what doesn't when you're designing spaces. And that's all just comes with being curious and never looking and always looking for new information. Don't focus on titles. Because a lot of times when you're young, you look at someone or you go there, The President, Oh, they're the director and you make it a little intimidated because their title. But what I've come to realize is, you know, we're all just people and we all were all just normal or all normal people. So you'd have to talk to someone like their normal person and you have a, you just go into a conversation with confidence and I promise you, people will always take you seriously. They're always be willing to help and they'll always be willing to answer any questions you have. It's really just finding a good mentor and working for people who value you and your, and your time. And then just the final piece of advice I'd offer is never to think you have to be the best, the smartest, or the greatest. It really comes down to having a good attitude, being willing to learn, and just stepping up to the plate. And if you could do those three things, it doesn't matter how smart you are, how good you are at. One thing people really care about is your energy, your drive, and just your willingness to be a team member. And on that note, I believe that's my video.
BUAD 110 Alumni Videos Stephen Schindel - Development Associate
From James Hageman August 18, 2021
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