SCSU real estate connections run deep

The affiliations on the 300-strong membership list of St. Cloud State University’s Real Estate Alumni Association read like a directory of Minnesota’s finest commercial real estate companies.

Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq, Frauenshuh, Upland Real Estate Group, Colliers International, CBRE, Mid-America Real Estate – Minnesota, Schafer Richardson, Newmark Knight Frank, to name just a few.

While many are large and well known, small companies are not lost among the giants. That’s the point. It’s the St. Cloud State University connection that links them, not the size of their company.

It is one of the keys to the success of St. Cloud State University’s program in real estate, its graduates and their career development.

Of primary value are the networking opportunities and connections it promotes through the continuing education sessions, social activities and gatherings it organizes.

“Our competitors in the market are friends that we graduated with. Some are clients, some are competitors,” said Stefanie Meyer, principal and senior vice president of tenant representation at Mid-America Real Estate-Minnesota. “When I need it, somebody is going to call me back because of that connection.”

A St. Cloud State graduate serves as an officer or has an influencing connection in most major firms in Twin Cities commercial real estate, said Keith Sturm, a 1986 graduate of the real estate program and former president of REAA.

St. Cloud State graduates are involved with most major projects in the Twin Cities in some shape or form, he said.

Steven Mooney, echoes the assessment, citing graduates who have worked on elements of Target Center, Target Field, the new Vikings training center and the 3M complex.

“The St. Cloud connection was pivotal in my ability to build my company,” said Sturm, who launched Upland Real Estate Group Inc. in Minneapolis in 1995.

Sturm has hired St. Cloud State graduates for his company. Some of those now connect with the mentor and internship efforts that also are part of the alumni group’s link to the university.

A good measure of that connection comes with the group’s annual social activities — happy hour gatherings designed for networking and discussing industry trends and a winter banquet where awards and scholarships are announced and students can meet and discuss career options, mentorships or internship possibilities with potential mentors and employers.

In early October, REAA hosted its annual Golf Classic at the Brookview course in Golden Valley for 80-90 graduates and students. For members, it’s a chance for fun and to make connections with alums that work in other aspects of the industry. In most cases, their foursomes included a St. Cloud State student, to give them an opportunity to pick the brains of those operating in the market or their field of interest.

Alumni also often become the hosts when the Real Estate Association, a student organization at St. Cloud State, organizes tours of real estate projects in the Twin Cities or other metropolitan areas.

“In general the alumni are very proud of where we come from and are always willing to help and pick up the phone knowing they can help,” said Jesseka Doherty ’02, a former president of the alumni association and vice president of project leasing at Mid-America Real Estate – Minnesota.

It’s a closeness and camaraderie that is fun as well as useful.

“We jokingly call ourselves the St. Cloud real estate mafia,” Sturm said.