The
Chapman Real Estate Alumni Mentorship Program
held a
meet-and-greet mixer
in October, marking the first gathering for selected mentees and mentors in the group. Founded by the same group of former students who founded the Chapman Real Estate Association, the program was designed to give current business school undergraduate students, MBA students and young alumni the opportunity to be mentored by real estate industry leaders. Participating mentors specialize in a variety of fields ranging from commercial and residential developments and construction, ‘flipping,’ engineering, finance, consulting and research. At the October event, mentees met their mentors, initiating their professional relationships.

The keynote speaker was Barry Houseal, P.E., founder and president of BLH, Inc., a highly regarded structural engineering consulting firm with offices in Newport Coast and Telluride, Colo. He is licensed to practice in 16 states. With more than 40 years of experience in the construction industry, Houseal’s body of work encompasses pure structural engineering design on high-rise commercial concrete, structural steel buildings, bridges, hotels, and log and timber structures. Houseal’s past developments include projects such as Disney’s Grand Californian Resort Hotel & Spa in Anaheim, a $1.2 billion expansion program.

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Attendees listen to real estate expert and keynote speaker Barry Houseal.



After the presentation, the floor was opened for a Q&A discussion with Houseal. Rob Selway ’07 (MBA ’10), assistant vice president of Citizens Business Bank and member of
Chapman50
, was the moderator, facilitating questions from the audience. As the owner of three engineering patents related to the non-settlement of log structures, Houseal emphasized the importance of thinking outside the box and never giving up. Students, mentors and university guests left with a lasting impression and example of success moving forward.

The Chapman Real Estate Alumni Mentorship Program will be accepting its next cycle of mentor and mentee applications from May 1-31, 2015.

View the mentee application »

View the mentor application »

Learn more about the Chapman Real Estate Alumni Mentorship Program
or
contact the group via e-mail
.