Riya Luthra
College: UC Berkeley
Major: Business Administration
Graduation Year: Fall 2021

I found my passion in real estate as a Freshman at UC Berkeley through the Undergraduate Real Estate Club. I applied myself to different internships to gain a better understanding of the industry. For example, working on the Principal side with DivcoWest, Hines, and Blackstone gave me exposure to acquisitions, investor relations, development, and asset management. All my internship experiences have helped solidify my interests in real estate. I will be working full-time after graduation as a Real Estate Investment Analyst at KKR, a global investor allocating equity and debt capital across all real estate investment strategies.

My personal goals are impacted by my background. As a first-generation college student, I was taught by my parents to always go above and beyond to make the most of all opportunities.

I prepared for my different internships and interviews by networking with people in similar positions, taking real estate courses online, and researching trends in the market. Given that real estate is a niche industry, building a strong network early on in my college career allowed me to get different references for jobs and advice on career choices. As a student at Cal, I did not have many real estate courses on campus; therefore, I sought knowledge from online coursework like Wall Street Prep, REFAI, and ACRE to prepare for the technical portion of my interviews.

Some valuable lessons I have learned in the past three years of college are prioritizing building valuable relationships with people, always pushing myself to learn more, and getting involved in different projects. I believe that people are rewarded for the amount of effort they put in, and I feel grateful to see that come to fruition in my life. Looking back, I would tell my younger self to remain confident in myself. It can be intimidating to go through interviews and networking, but I have made my best connections when I remained true to myself.