On Being a Female MSRE Student

SAN DIEGO—With only one other female student in this year's MSRE program at the Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate at the University of San Diego's School of Business, Karamarie White is often approached by her classmates to give the “woman's perspective,” she tells GlobeSt.com. White was most recently an associate in analytics and insights with Golin in Dallas, but left in August and worked remotely for a month before becoming a full-time student at the BMC with an internship in the morning and classes beginning at 4 p.m. She has a BBA in Marketing from Southern Methodist University.

White's academic goals are to aim for high grades and learning about real estate. She says her professional goals are “to have my own development business. I am so new, but that's my thought as of now for what I want to do. My dad is an architect and has his own firm, and seeing him have that entrepreneurial spirit, I always wanted to be my own boss and have my own business. I think I will like development because originally I wanted to be an architect, but I'm good in math and like to do different things. I don't want to do same things every day.”

We spoke exclusively with White about being female in an overwhelmingly male class and what the MSRE program has done for her so far.

GlobeSt.com: What has it been like to be a female MSRE student pursuing a career in real estate?

White: First, I can definitely say that while there are a lot more men in the program than women—there are only two women—I haven't really felt too much of a gender gap. The BMC program does a good job of encouraging everyone to participate and giving everyone the same opportunities—females and males. We all have mentors, and we've been treated fairly equally. I haven't encountered too many areas of inequality. I was a little more worried I would be the only female, so having the other one was a nice surprise. We gravitated toward each other the first few days, but after we got to know each other, we realized everyone's friendly and nice; maybe the two girls subconsciously grouped together more. I don't think anyone does it on purpose or sees us as weaker students, but the male students do ask us to give our opinion from a woman's perspective, rather than ask another guy.

GlobeSt.com: What opportunities has the MSRE program offered you, and how has the program and the BMC helped enhance and propel your career in real estate so far?

White: I don't have a background in real estate, so the program has given me an overall knowledge and understanding of the industry that I wouldn't necessarily have been able to get at an entry-level job. It gave me a mentor, and he's really great. The whole mentorship program is really nice, and the fact that it's not mandatory—opt in—is almost counterintuitive: more people want to do it because it's not forced. My mentor did connect me with my current internship. It was all a little overwhelming and so new—I had no idea what I was getting into—so it was nice to have help in areas where I might not know where to go. The BMC helped me with that, too—things like submitting résumés. I went to meetings, and it was good to see how it all worked.

GlobeSt.com:  What is the greatest take-away you had from the MSRE program?

White: Just the overall knowledge I might not have gained elsewhere, and the fact that it has provided me with a great network of individuals. Everyone I've seen who has graduated from the program is committed to helping current students, to making sure that the program grows and everyone gets something out of it. It's a big positive when alumni want to come back and attend an event.

GlobeSt.com: In what ways do you wish to leave your mark (as a woman) in real estate?

White: I just want to be a successful real estate professional. I want to be known for my great real estate acumen, my integrity and producing a high-quality product. I haven't thought too specifically yet about how I want to leave my mark as a woman, but just in general I want to be known as a great professional and be really successful.

SAN DIEGO—With only one other female student in this year's MSRE program at the Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate at the University of San Diego's School of Business, Karamarie White is often approached by her classmates to give the “woman's perspective,” she tells GlobeSt.com. White was most recently an associate in analytics and insights with Golin in Dallas, but left in August and worked remotely for a month before becoming a full-time student at the BMC with an internship in the morning and classes beginning at 4 p.m. She has a BBA in Marketing from Southern Methodist University.

White's academic goals are to aim for high grades and learning about real estate. She says her professional goals are “to have my own development business. I am so new, but that's my thought as of now for what I want to do. My dad is an architect and has his own firm, and seeing him have that entrepreneurial spirit, I always wanted to be my own boss and have my own business. I think I will like development because originally I wanted to be an architect, but I'm good in math and like to do different things. I don't want to do same things every day.”

We spoke exclusively with White about being female in an overwhelmingly male class and what the MSRE program has done for her so far.

GlobeSt.com: What has it been like to be a female MSRE student pursuing a career in real estate?

White: First, I can definitely say that while there are a lot more men in the program than women—there are only two women—I haven't really felt too much of a gender gap. The BMC program does a good job of encouraging everyone to participate and giving everyone the same opportunities—females and males. We all have mentors, and we've been treated fairly equally. I haven't encountered too many areas of inequality. I was a little more worried I would be the only female, so having the other one was a nice surprise. We gravitated toward each other the first few days, but after we got to know each other, we realized everyone's friendly and nice; maybe the two girls subconsciously grouped together more. I don't think anyone does it on purpose or sees us as weaker students, but the male students do ask us to give our opinion from a woman's perspective, rather than ask another guy.

GlobeSt.com: What opportunities has the MSRE program offered you, and how has the program and the BMC helped enhance and propel your career in real estate so far?

White: I don't have a background in real estate, so the program has given me an overall knowledge and understanding of the industry that I wouldn't necessarily have been able to get at an entry-level job. It gave me a mentor, and he's really great. The whole mentorship program is really nice, and the fact that it's not mandatory—opt in—is almost counterintuitive: more people want to do it because it's not forced. My mentor did connect me with my current internship. It was all a little overwhelming and so new—I had no idea what I was getting into—so it was nice to have help in areas where I might not know where to go. The BMC helped me with that, too—things like submitting résumés. I went to meetings, and it was good to see how it all worked.

GlobeSt.com:  What is the greatest take-away you had from the MSRE program?

White: Just the overall knowledge I might not have gained elsewhere, and the fact that it has provided me with a great network of individuals. Everyone I've seen who has graduated from the program is committed to helping current students, to making sure that the program grows and everyone gets something out of it. It's a big positive when alumni want to come back and attend an event.

GlobeSt.com: In what ways do you wish to leave your mark (as a woman) in real estate?

White: I just want to be a successful real estate professional. I want to be known for my great real estate acumen, my integrity and producing a high-quality product. I haven't thought too specifically yet about how I want to leave my mark as a woman, but just in general I want to be known as a great professional and be really successful.