Building a Two-Way Street: Grubb Properties Summer 2024 Internship Program

August 15, 2024

“I learned a lot more about real estate and private equity and how the different arms and funds work together. It has been cool to see things I have learned in school and how that plays into the day-to-day here.”

Cadence Laurie, rising junior at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Grubb Properties Intern 2024  

Grubb Properties Celebrates Another Year of Its Summer Internship Program

At Grubb Properties, capturing the full potential of its strategic summer internship program is two-way street that benefits both the college students who participate in it and the company itself, according to Associate Director of Talent Acquisition Melissa Needham. 

“We’re extremely grateful to our 2024 summer interns for making a meaningful contribution to our business,” Needham said, noting that July 25 marked National Intern Day. “This bright and talented group brought tremendous energy and fresh perspectives on technologies and trends that help us evolve our business. Just as importantly, they offered their unique take on the values and expectations of the cohort of future young American apartment renters we serve through our national Link Apartments℠ brand.” 

During an eight-week period beginning in June, Grubb Properties hosted six interns who worked in a variety of company departments including finance, marketing, and investments. The interns hailed from five colleges and universities, and gained hands-on, real-world experience that is becoming increasingly relevant in today’s competitive job market. 

Grubb Properties' intern program has grown significantly in recent years. “It’s exciting to bring interns into areas that aren’t traditional ‘real estate,’ including marketing and accounting, to show interns how their skills and passions are valued in the commercial real estate industry,” said Needham.

Under Needham, intern recruitment has expanded to a national scope, with a focus on participation in programs designed to bring diverse students into the intern pool, including UNC’s Real Estate Diversity Initiative (REDI). 

Needham and her team work closely to ensure that housing and other logistics are finalized prior to the interns’ start dates. “We have a notable advantage as a multifamily developer,” said Needham. “We offered our out-of-town interns short-term leases in our Charlotte-area Link Apartments℠.” 

During his time at Grubb Properties, Sean Nguyen joined the Investments team and had the opportunity to also work with the acquisitions, financing, and development teams. Sean said the time at Grubb Properties solidified his interest in the investments area of real estate and praised his manager for taking time to help educate him.

“I really liked that I got to participate in what was going on,” said Sean. “I really appreciated the time my manager invested in me, offering advice and education for me to learn about concepts.”

Among Sean’s fellow interns were Eliza Poole and Asa Humphries. Eliza worked with the multifamily marketing team and Asa joined the accounting team.

Eliza said one of her favorite parts was the opportunity to travel to different cities and tour Link Apartments℠ communities as well as some peer properties. She also worked on property websites and social media channels.

Eliza said she valued the opportunity to be creative but also get support from her team. “I loved my team and how welcoming and nice they were,” said Eliza. “I felt like I could go into their office any time and they were super helpful."

Asa said his internship, which allowed him to rotate among different teams in the accounting department, helped him see the full picture of the process while giving him real-world experience to back up concepts he studies in college. He also said the internship gave him valuable experience in how to navigate the corporate world. 

“Getting different mentors was helpful in learning styles of managers for the future,” said Asa. 

One of the best aspects of his internship was “being able to attend all the meetings that leadership was in,” he added. “At first when I was thrown in, I had no idea what was going on, but the more that I was in them, the more I was able to grasp.”

Thank you to all of our 2024 Summer Interns!

For information on our benefits and to see our available job openings, please visit our Careers Page.