PHI PSIS EXPLORE NEW YORK CITY 

In Phi Psi’s third offering of the Explore program, 19 Phi Psi undergraduates from 16 chapters across the country joined in New York City and were immersed in the world of corporate real estate.  

Students arrived on Sunday, Jan. 7, and were given a walking tour of the city. One of the many benefits of the Explore program is the opportunity for Phi Psi undergraduates to gain exposure to different parts of the country and how the industry they are pursuing fits into that space.  

After acclimating to the city, the real work began Monday morning. Hearing from several Phi Psi speakers and hosts within the corporate real estate sector, participants received an industry overview, covered topics related to both hard and soft skills associated with the industry and were prepared for the immersion tracks they would participate in the following day.  

Tuesday started with a Turner Construction site tour at 1 TSQ, the site where just days earlier the ball was dropped to welcome the new year. The students got to see the famous crystal ball up close, an opportunity that most will never experience in their lifetime.    

The 19 participants were then broken into three cohorts, dependent upon their area of study (construction, design and real estate). They spent the remainder of their day at different host sites within downtown New York, witnessing the industry they have been studying in the classroom firsthand and building relationships with influential alumni in those fields.  

What started as a street level view of the city, ended atop one of the tallest buildings in New York – the Empire State Building. The program concluded and each student returned to their respective campus, but they brought back with them a network of peers looking to break into the same industry, relationships with established alumni in their field of study and an understanding of an industry they had only ever viewed from a textbook or PowerPoint. 

Interest in the Explore program has grown exponentially since the pilot program, with over 50 applications coming in for the January offering alone. The potential of this program is endless, but that potential can only be realized with the support of our alumni donors and volunteers. Thank you to those that have supported this initiative and those that will help in its growth. 

The programming team is currently sourcing new industries and locations for future offerings. If you are interested in learning ways you can support the Explore program, either through volunteering, financially or both, please reach out to Drew Thawley at dmt@pkpfoundation.org. 

Thank you to our Phi Psi hosts and speakers who gave their time and treasure to make this program a success: Stephen Beavan Lafayette ’08, David Henry Bucknell ’69, Adam Camhi Rhode Island ’00, Garland DeGraffenreid Syracuse ’05, Zach Landtroop Lafayette ’12, Gabriel Mancuso Rhode Island ’04, Anthony Milano Rhode Island ’02, Armen Mkitarian Lafayette ’13, Justin Natalizio DePaul ’13 and John Pierce Lafayette ’78.