Brian participated in an internship with Dalan Management, a Manhattan-based real estate and distressed debt firm, which provided him with training and exposure to all facets of the real estate industry, including acquisitions, financing, building operations, construction management, and property management. His day-to-day tasks varied, from updating internal spreadsheets for the acquisitions and credit team to reviewing financial models in Excel and supporting management of the firm’s social media. As Brian enters his sophomore year at Columbia University, where he is studying economics and philosophy, he internalized one piece of advice from the Dalan CEO about the value of exploring various career paths: “Take the time to explore the multiple routes that someone interested in this field can follow because, whatever you do, you’ll need to do it well and consistently to be successful.” Additionally, Brian felt that the most important lesson he learned from his experience at Dalan was that the biggest differentiator between being “good” and “great” is attitude. Relationships are critical in real estate, and showing up each day with the hunger and enthusiasm to learn allowed him to absorb so much more from his summer internship.