Colorado Real Estate Journal - May 4, 2016
Rocky Mountain Real Estate Challenge participants wouldn’t trade the experience for anything, but they are breathing a collective sigh of relief. The time it takes to prepare a development proposal while balancing full course loads and jobs can seem overwhelming. “Far and away, the most challenging aspect of the competition has been trying to balance the demands of the competition with the demands of being a full-time grad student,” said Greg Mikulecky of the University of Denver. “All of the DU students have a full course load on top of everything the competition demands, and most of us have jobs as well,” he said. “Having to coordinate the schedules of our team members, our architectural resource, developer resource and industry professionals was always challenging, especially considering how little time we had to put the whole project together,” said Nathan Roberts of the University of Colorado. “It has been hard and at times defeating, but as a team we have learned so much. We know what it is like to work in a fast-paced environment while balancing life and other classes and commitments,” added DU’s Kiki Boone. Martha O’Connell, also of the University of Denver, said, “The experience earned from being able to work on a realistic project and really get into all of the zoning, financial and market details that go into a development is unmatched in a university environment.” Most beneficial for students was being able to work with so many industry professionals: contractors, developers, bankers, lawyers, architects and others, she said. Roberts agreed. “This experience has afforded me the opportunity to learn from experts in many different real estate disciplines in a way that is collaborative, supportive and fun. “Going forward, I think sharing my team’s ideas, research, how we approached the site and case objectives is going to be a great jumping off point during any networking event or interview. Most importantly, I think the RMREC forced us to draw upon the knowledge we have gained from the entirety of the MBA program and gave us a great platform to show to the whole community how much we have learned.” Although both teams were focused on winning the NAIOP Cup and taking home the larger of two scholarships from the Opus Foundation, it was “more icing on the cake than the goal,” said O’Connell. “Through the life cycle of the challenge, winning became less of the focus. Instead, our team just wanted to put together a project we are all proud of and passionate about. I think that shift made the challenge more enjoyable and exciting, and at the end of the day gave us the best opportunity to win,” Roberts commented. “DU has given me a lot, and I feel that keeping the hardware locked safely in our trophy case is a good way to start repaying that debt of gratitude,” added Mikulecky. “Personally, though, everything I’ve learned and experienced is mine to keep, win or lose, and I’m incredibly proud of our team and what we have accomplished together. “But I also can’t wait to get my life back.” DU’s team members were Mikulecky, Boone, O’Connell, Jamie Iuliano, Scott McDonald and Katie Wear. In addition to Roberts, CU’s team comprised Jeff Hopfenbeck, Robert Micsak, John Heitmann, Jimmy Miner and Melissa Ricksecker.