The Connecticut/Western Massachusetts Chapter of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR) has named the most recent recipients of the Sam Pierson and Carl Traub Scholarships at the University of Connecticut. The students are all real estate majors and on the Dean's List at UConn's School of Business.
A total of $10,500 was awarded to five deserving University of Connecticut students. The scholarships are funded from the Chapter sponsored Sam Pierson and Carl Traub Scholarships, with matching funds provided by the SIOR Foundation. The fall 2009 scholarship recipients are John DesRoschers, Mark Gaudette, Benjamin Hochran, James Lerro, and Jessica Pollack.

DesRoschers is a junior finance major with a real estate concentration. He is a member of the University of Connecticut Real Estate Society, presently serving as its president/COO, and is also a Special Olympics volunteer.

A junior majoring in real estate/urban economics, Gaudette works at The UConn Real Estate Center as a research analyst. He is also a member of the Delta Chi fraternity, serving on the academic scholarship committee helping to guide members of the fraternity to achieve academic success.

Hochran is a junior majoring in real estate finance and urban economics, with a minor in geography. He is an active UConn Real Estate Society member. He is also a community outreach volunteer in Storrs and holds a private pilot license.

A senior majoring in real estate and urban economics with a political science minor, Lerro has also been awarded the William Kinnard, Jr. / CREUS Scholarship. Lerro is a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity where he serves as pledge educator and director of philanthropy.

Pollack is a senior majoring in real estate and urban economics with a minor in psychology. She is currently serving as CFO of the UConn Real Estate Society and she is an active member and pledge class president of Delta Sigma Pi - a professional business fraternity.
The Connecticut/Western Massachusetts SIOR Chapter has two scholarship funds: The first is in honor of Samuel Pierson, a long-time member and past national president of the society, and the other in memory of Carl Traub, another long-time chapter member who had a significant positive impact on the commercial real estate industry. The chapter's scholarships are supported with matching funds from the SIOR Foundation (SIORF).
The Conn./Western Mass. Chapter is one of 43 chapters of the prestigious international organization, the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors. Commercial real estate professionals must meet rigorous requirements to earn the SIOR designation. SIOR, based in Washington, D.C., has more than 3,100 members in 480 cities and 20 countries and was founded in 1941. SIORs are top producers who are required to complete an educational recertification program every three years. This assures those who need the services of a commercial real estate agent that the SIOR has achieved continued excellence.
The SIOR Foundation's mission is to promote and support initiatives that expand, educate, and enrich the commercial real estate community. Established in 1962 to publish the industry's first graduate level text book on industrial real estate, SIOR Foundation has maintained its dedication to expanding and understanding the commercial real estate industry. The Foundation has a matching scholarship program available to the various local SIOR chapters
Please visit www.siorct.com to find additional information on the Connecticut/Western Massachusetts Chapter.