In a typical fall semester, business administration major Jenny Pedersen ’22 might be found at ski practice, working on her finance and sports management studies or back home in Norway, where she’s from. As a varsity skier at UVM, her schedule is usually packed with two practices each day. But last semester was anything but typical and instead of dividing her time between the slopes and the classroom, she found herself an internship.

At the beginning of her junior year, Pedersen felt it was time to start seriously exploring future career options, and that an internship — usually a summer opportunity for her — was the best way to gain some tangible experience with a defined commitment and timeline. “I’m trying to find what industry is right for me, after working at a software and human resources company last summer I knew I needed to try something a bit more creative,” she says.

She landed on real estate as a possible career path, as it “combines a lot of the things that I really like to do, including finance, sales, architecture and design,” she says.

With the flexibility of hybrid and remote classes, she started researching real estate companies in the greater Burlington area, made a list and started sending out cold emails. One of those emails landed in the inbox of Steve Donahue ’85, of Donahue & Associates. Her resume, cover letter and a few phone calls sealed the deal and she was offered a position to join the firm as an intern.

“From the moment Jenny inquired about a potential internship it was obvious that this was a student with a keen purpose of pursuing her interest in real estate,” Donahue says.

His mentorship provided Pedersen a strong learning experience during a most unexpected time and allowed her to envision herself in a career in real estate industry. She jumped into the marketing side of real estate and gained experience with social media marketing, listings and exploring the commercial real estate landscape in Vermont. She even had the chance to work at times (safely and social distanced) in the Donahue & Associates office, which is long way away from the slopes and books she’d normally dig into. “I gained so much by just being in the office, being able to overhear conversation helped me better understand the complete process.”

“Though the pandemic has brought many challenges to the commercial real estate brokering business here in Vermont and Burlington, the market has remained extremely active,” says Donahue. “Each sector of the industry, whether it be retail, restaurant, office, industrial or investment, has created opportunities for the brokerage community,” he explains.

With investment real estate sales booming during a period of historically low interest rates and leasing inventory keeping the firm busy, “having Jenny onboard throughout this past fall has been extremely beneficial to our brokerage team and company, as well as our clients and customers,” Donahue says.

“The internship was extremely valuable in helping me tie together what I’ve learned in the classroom and its relevance to a full-time career,” Pedersen says. “I now know I’m interested in broker transactions and am curious to learn more about the commercial real estate industry.”

During the fall, Pedersen was nominated for an International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Foundation scholarship, dedicated to Grossman School of Business students who are interested in real estate development. With a recommendation letter from Donahue, she was selected as one of four recipients. “This scholarship would not have been possible if I didn’t take a chance. By going out of my way to achieve a goal I accomplished so much more,” she says.

Reflecting on her experience, she emphasizes the importance of putting yourself out there and finding the right people.  “If you set your mind to doing something. And you try your absolute best to achieve that, the odds are you will be surprised that things often work out.”

Pedersen looks forward to diving deeper into commercial real estate in her Real Estate Finance course next semester and looks forward to returning as an intern with Donahue & Associates in fall of 2021.