Dan Nguyen of Fairfax, Virginia, has received the highly competitive CREW Network Foundation scholarship for the 2014–15 academic year. 

Nguyen is a senior University Honors student with dual degrees in property management and real estate. She also has a double minor in business and entrepreneurship-new venture growth through the Pamplin College of Business.

Nguyen is among ten winners selected from a large number of women nationwide who are pursuing a degree that will prepare them for a career in the commercial real estate industry.

The scholarship provide full tuition and books. Recipients also receive a paid summer internship at CBRE, the world's largest commercial real estate services firm, CREW Network student membership, and complimentary registration to the CREW Network Convention and Marketplace, to be held in Miami later this month and attended by 1,200 senior-level commercial real estate industry executives.

The scholarship program encourages women to pursue careers in the commercial real estate industry. The scholarship is awarded to full-time female undergraduate or graduate students enrolled in an accredited real estate program. The recipient must have at least a 3.0 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) and must maintain their grade point average in the following year.

“I am eager to find new ways to improve the operations of real estate properties,” says Nguyen. “My focus would be on lean practices that can increase properties’ net operating incomes and tenants’ satisfaction while reducing unnecessary expenses, which will eventually have positive impacts on the properties’ values.”

Passionate about the real estate industry, Nguyen says that her course work and internships have allowed her to expand her knowledge in several different aspects of the real estate industry, such as development, investment and management.

“Dan is an exceptional student who pushes herself to excel personally and professionally,” said Kevin J. Boyle, director of Virginia Tech's real estate program. “The CREW Scholarship recognizes her exceptional accomplishments and will help her meet her goal of becoming a successful real estate professional.”

Nguyen plans to pursue a career in asset management which will allow her to utilize her analytical skills in identifying ways to improve the financial performance of real estate properties.

The property management program in the Department of Apparel, Housing and Resource Management focuses on management, operations, marketing, development, and acquisition of luxury and affordable apartment developments, senior living communities, mixed-use, and office and retail properties. Graduates are in demand for their knowledge and skills that address the complexities of managing multimillion-dollar investments.

The real estate program offers a comprehensive interdisciplinary bachelor of science degree in real estate that builds on existing strengths in six colleges — the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Architecture and Urban Studies, Pamplin College of Business, College of Engineering, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, and College of Natural Resources and Environment. 

The program’s experiential courses integrate disciplines such as finance, law, construction, and property management by examining commercial, residential, retail, and mixed-use property from initial project conceptualization through sale or management. Graduates of the program are prepared to enter the real estate industry and make immediate professional contributions.

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.

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