Bianca Saunders
Journal Staff

Four pros from the Building Owners and Management Association (BOMA) of Boston visited Suffolk University last Tuesday to share their expertise with students.The Career Week event was hosted by Suffolk F.I.R.E (Future Investors in Real Estate) and Betsy McDowell, associate director of Career Services.

“It’s really great to have collaborations with student groups,” said McDowell, pleased with the turnout of the event. “We’re really pleased we could put this together with F.I.R.E.”

BOMA Boston, the sixth largest federal affiliate of BOMA international, is home to over 575 commercial real estate professionals in the Boston area who own, develop, manage, or service property and represents over 100 million square feet of commercial real estate. It offers members opportunities such as education programs and aid in securing jobs.

The panel from BOMA was comprised of Erika Clarke, senior vice president of property management at Taurus Management Service LLC, David Drady, property management coordinator of Boston Properties, Robyn Duffy, property management of Taurus Management, and Renee Russo, the assistant director of BOMA Boston.

All four were asked by McDowell to comment on their own experiences of the real estate business, specifically commercial real estate. She prompted them with must-know questions, such as skills the career requires and how to start out in the field.

The panelists explained the ins and outs of their careers, advising students on topics such as breaking into the field, establishing connections and succeeding in the business.

All four agreed the key to breaking into the field and achieving success is taking entry-level jobs to gain experience, networking, flexibility (the ability to easily switch from one task to the next), and strong communication skills, both written and vocal.

“It’s going to sound cliché, but one needs to have a ‘can-do’ attitude, people and communication skills and be detail-oriented and a good networker,” stated Drady.

The floor was later opened up to questions from eager students, who addressed their concerns with the current state of the industry given the economy.  There was laughter in the room as the speechless panelists paused shortly, but all four concluded that there was “nowhere to go but up” and that things are recovering little by little.

Duffy said recovery comes from creativity and reviewing every penny, and Drady agreed the plus side is that it makes those in real estate much smarter.

In addition, Russo, who is not in property management, commented on the importance of trade associations like BOMA in the recent economic hardships.

Suffolk students listened intently, finding the event to be helpful and informative as the coming of the spring registration forces them to make decisions about their own career paths.  Clarke encouraged students to force themselves out of their comfort zones as she believes it is extremely rewarding.

“The range in experience of the panel members was insightful,” said freshman John Hardiman. “It was helpful in figuring out which aspects of real estate I’d like to get involved with.”