¶ … NYU Master's program in Real Estate Development is the perfect program for me at this stage of my career. When I switched into the real estate industry a few years ago, I realized that I loved being in this business, but it has become apparent that I need to upgrade my skills in order to unlock my career potential. I feel that the Real Estate Development program is the perfect opportunity for me to gain the skills and knowledge that will allow me to pursue the career path that I want for myself. Originally from New Jersey and now living in the City, I started my professional career with Metlife, working as an insurance broker. While I was able to hone my sales skills in this role, and learn the value of working within a strict regulatory structure, I also felt that this was not the optimal role for me to pursue as a career. After some years, I felt like it was time for a change, and I exited the insurance industry. I had always had an interest in real estate development, and made the decision to pursue my passion as my career. It was the best decision I could have made.

I interned for several summers with Garden Homes Development in Short Hills, NJ, in commercial real estate development. Essentially, I felt that it was important to learn a bit about the business before committing my career path to it. There is a difference between enjoying something and wanting to pursue it as a career. I found, thankfully, that both applied. I love the real estate development business, and I have proven to be good at it. As such, I feel that it is now time to move forward in my career, and the next logical step is to pursue the education that I need to get into higher levels of the business.

To this point, I have worked in an internship capacity, which means that I have seen a lot of what goes into commercial real estate development. I have worked with the Director of Property Development, and have been able to absorb a lot of knowledge, and contacts, that I feel will help me along my career path. The NYU Real Estate Development program is the springboard from which I can get out of the administrative side and launch my career.

I see the Real Estate Development program as helping me in a couple of key ways. First, the program will act as a supplement to the...

The applied knowledge that I will acquire in the course of my studies will build on the work that I have done in sustainable development and green building, in addition to project management. With this knowledge, I will be able to build a career based on higher level management, eventually spearheading my own development projects. Now that I know that this is what I want for my life's work, I cannot wait to get started, and that means getting this degree to raise my skill level and open up the right doors for me.
The other thing that I hope to get from the program is leadership skills. It is one thing to have functional knowledge, but as we all know, real estate development is about teamwork, coordinating different interests, and managing complexity. That requires not only functional ability and knowledge, but leadership ability as well. I see myself as being the kind of transformation leader who can inspire others, not only creating a vision but having the ability to translate my visions into reality. I turn my dreams into reality, which makes me well-suited for a leadership role in real estate development.

I will make several valuable contributions to the program. As a student, I already have experience in the industry after several years interning in the summers. I can relate the class materials to things that I have seen, something that should help with the class discussions. There are no passengers in this program, and I will not be, either, because of the insights that I will bring. Furthermore, I have tremendous passion for real estate development. When I was working in insurance, I wanted to be in real estate development. When I was interning in real estate development, that is where I wanted to be. I am fully committed to real estate development as my career, and because I see myself taking a leadership role, I will be an enthusiastic contributor to the Real Estate Development program at NYU.

One thing about me is that I never forget where I came from. I will always have utmost respect to what I receive from NYU. After graduation, I will represent the school to the best of my ability, a proud alumnus. I am always willing to help those who are coming up behind me, and when…