According to The Connecticut/Western Massachusetts Chapter of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR), University of Connecticut scholar and recipient of one of their Chapter scholarships is now working in the commercial real estate brokerage industry. Brett Eagleson, a 2007 recipient of the Samuel F. Pierson Scholarship and a graduate of the University of Connecticut-School of Business, is currently employed by O,R&L Commercial.
O,R&L is a full service commercial real estate company headquartered in Branford, offering commercial brokerage, facilities and property management, commercial construction, and janitorial services. O,R&L was founded in 1990 and continues to grow with clients along the east coast from Florida to Massachusetts.
For more than 20 years, the Connecticut/Western Massachusetts SIOR Chapter has enjoyed an excellent relationship with the University of Connecticut's School of Business. The Chapter has awarded in excess of $200,000 in scholarships to more than 100 deserving UConn students majoring in real estate.
Eagleson said, "I am so thankful for all the support I received throughout my years at UConn. Their Real Estate Department is ranked amongst the best in the nation for a reason. Their affiliation with such prestigious organizations as SIOR brings a new dimension to education. It offers students the opportunity to network and interact with the smartest players in the industry. If you want to be the best, you have to learn from the best."
In June of 2008, Eagleson began working for O,R&L Facility Services as an assistant controller. He said, "It was nice having a stable job right out of college, especially with all the turmoil in the housing and credit markets. A lot of companies were beginning to institute hiring freezes, and I was grateful to be hired out of college."
After working for a year in property management, Eagleson decided to make the transition to O,R&L's Commercial Brokerage division. While majoring in real estate at UConn, he had a short internship with Colliers, Dow & Condon during the spring semester of his junior year, and even started investing in real estate around the UConn campus. "It only made sense that I work in the field." Eagleson said, "At first I was attracted to the stability in my job on the property management side, but soon I realized brokerage was where my heart has always been."
The Connecticut/Western Massachusetts SIOR Chapter has two scholarship funds. The first is in honor of Samuel F. Pierson, a longtime Chapter member and past president of the organization. And the other scholarship is in memory of Carl F. Traub, another longtime 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 SIOR Foundation's mission is to promote initiatives to 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, the SIOR Foundation has maintained its dedication to expanding and understanding the commercial real estate industry. The Foundation has a matching scholarship program available to regional SIOR Chapters. The Connecticut/Western Massachusetts Chapter is one of 43 Chapters of the prestigious international organization.
Please visit our website www.siorct.com to find additional information on the Connecticut/Western Massachusetts Chapter, Chapter members, and upcoming events. Should you have questions or interest in the requirements and benefits of becoming an SIOR and joining the Connecticut/Western Massachusetts Chapter, please contact Sherri Thompson, SIOR at 860.528.0884 or John Reed, SIOR at 860.987.4788.