Jon Lange, WG’14, entered Wharton with the goal of transitioning from the real estate advisory business to the real estate investment business – a narrow focus that influenced his choices in navigating the curriculum. With a very targeted career plan, he knew exactly what courses he needed.
“I was able to waive three of the required core courses because I was an undergrad business major,” he said. “That freed me to take real estate electives during the first semester.”
He chose Real Estate Entrepreneurship (REAL 891), Real Estate Law (REAL 804), and an independent study (REAL 899).
“I also leveraged the flexible core to focus on courses that would complement my existing skill set,” said Jon, an Arizonan. For example, because he co-founded a start-up, he took the management course that focused on established enterprises (MGMT 611) instead of emerging enterprises.
”You quickly see how fast your network can grow by leveraging the faculty,” he said. “Michelle Felman, who taught my real estate entrepreneurship course, comes from the private side of the business. She was with a great firm, Vornado Realty Trust, for a long time, and therefore, has great relationships with industry executives. She’s more than willing to sit down with her students to find out what they want to get out of the program, what their career goals are and to offer insight as to how they can best achieve them.”
Posted: January 16, 2016
