Intern Spotlight: Interview with Emily Wu, 2021 PTL Scholar at Kevin Kwan Real Estate Group
Can you describe what your experience was like as an intern?
Hey PTL! My name is Emily and I am a 2021 summer scholar. I got the amazing opportunity to intern at two places, first at a commercial real estate firm then I ended up at a residential real estate company. I luckily stumbled across this possibility because I expressed to my first internship that I was interested in residential sales. From there on, the broker referred me to one of his friends who happened to be the president of a Century 21 franchise in Arcadia. I found home with my mentor who not only graduated from my high school, but is also an alumni of the current college I go to, UC Riverside. I spent the majority of that summer going to the office a few times a week. I was exposed to marketing tactics such as going door to door to meet potential clients and getting to know them on a personal level, I explored houses and gained an understanding of legal matters of the real estate sales process from lending, going through escrow, and inspections. I was encapsulated in a professional environment where people were passionate about what they did and that made the experience fun, engaging, and overall fulfilling. After the internship, I’ve always made the time to keep up with my mentor to update my life.
What skills/experiences/mentorships/outcomes were most valuable coming out of the internship?
One of the most valuable experiences I’ve grasped from this internship is the importance of networking. Many say it’s about who you know and not what you know and I firmly believe in that analogy. I wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity to meet my mentor if I didn’t inform my first internship about my interests. Knowing people will open doors of opportunity and this was achievable through PTL who opened the gate and showed me this possibility through internships. From there on, my mentor has offered to refer me to his friends who are in careers I am interested in. This is the result of networking and to be given the ability to establish valuable and meaningful relationships in life. To those who are interested in hosting an intern, I hope my experience will push you to take that chance and to give a student a worthwhile experience that will change their life. To students who are interested in applying for a position, I want you to take that risk even if you don’t think you are qualified enough, because we all start somewhere. I did not have an ounce of real estate knowledge in my body yet I managed to hop on two internships. My experience was gratifying and extremely rewarding and I couldn’t have asked for more.
How did the PTL Scholarship help you (Did it help with college expenses/spending?)
College is expensive, and the PTL scholarship has helped me with my first quarter at UCR. I didn’t realize how expensive books were, yes there are free versions online, but the majority of the scholarship went towards websites where I needed to pay in order to gain access to the homework.
What are you working on now and how could the PTL community support you?
Currently, I am a freshman at the University of California, Riverside pursuing a Bachelors of Science in business concentrating in finance. I am focusing on keeping my grades up and exploring business clubs and organizations to connect with like minded people. As of right now I am hoping to land an internship in summer 2023. Notice how the degree I am pursuing was not related to my internship?