The was started in 2015 with the aim of providing undergraduate and graduate students valuable experience in real estate to launch their careers. Students are nominated for the scholarship by their university and are selected by a panel of judges.

鈥淲hen I found out I had won the scholarship, I was really excited, shocked, and humbled,鈥� said Townsend. 鈥淭his big foundation in a giant city has reached out to a kid from Arkansas and saw my potential. I鈥檓 nervous and definitely want to put forth my full effort. This is a big opportunity. I am excited to learn more about something I鈥檓 passionate about.鈥�

Earlier this year, Townsend was a member of the group of students at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock who won a national Real Estate Challenge in Chicago, also through the Eisenberg Foundation. The challenge connects groups of students at selected universities to a high-profile property development project in the Chicago Metropolitan area. Each team must present a development plan to maximize the property鈥檚 potential. 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock was the Undergraduate Division Winner, receiving $5,000 to support the finance/real estate program at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock.

It was through the Real Estate Challenge that Townsend first learned about the Scholar Program.

鈥淚t really piqued my interest to learn more about the Scholar Program,鈥� Townsend said. 鈥淎fter we won the challenge, Professor Small nominated me for the program.鈥�

The 10-month Real Estate Scholar Program is focused on mentorship and networking and gives students opportunities to make connections in the real estate industry. Students are connected with a 鈥渟uper mentor,鈥� attend meetings and conferences with industry professionals, go on field trips, and even attend the International Council of Shopping Centers Las Vegas convention.

鈥淭his is a big opportunity to get my foot in the door with networking,鈥� Townsend said. 鈥淚n this industry, it鈥檚 all about who you know and who knows who. Recently, I was able to attend an event in Chicago, and I got 10 business cards from big names in Chicago. This program really gives me the ability to build a network.鈥�

Townsend expressed his gratitude to the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock School of Business, Dr. Mark Funk, and Professor Elizabeth Small.

鈥淚 want to say a big thank you to the School of Business and to Dr. Funk and Professor Small,鈥� Townsend said. 鈥淭hey are the ones who are making this possible for me. They have helped me fund my trips to Chicago and overall have been a big help in allowing me to do this.鈥�

After graduation, Townsend plans to work in commercial real estate and hopes to later attend law school after gaining hands-on experience in the field.

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糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock was the Undergraduate Division Winner of the , which matches teams from selected universities in a competition focusing on a high-profile development/redevelopment project in the Chicago Metropolitan area.

糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock was one of a dozen teams competing in the high-profile competition, including Georgia State, Tulane, Loyola, Marquette, Michigan State, Ohio State, and the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.

鈥淲hen they said our name, I was in total disbelief that we had actually won,鈥� said Lamar Townsend, a junior double major in finance-real estate and political science from Maumelle. 鈥淲e were up against some very elite and highly resourced schools, so I thought our chances of winning were slim. However, I am honored and humbled that the Eisenberg Foundation gave us the opportunity to participate in this opportunity. It was truly a great experience.鈥�

Each team is assigned the same case site and provided the same essential information and assumptions about the property. The students鈥� development plan must constitute a comprehensive analysis and conclusion of how to maximize the potential of the property from both a quantitative (financial) and qualitative (feasibility) standpoint.

鈥淲e decided to place an entertainment venue with retail and restaurants at the waterfront and then an office building and learning center on the interior of the island,鈥� said Adison Cummings, a junior double majoring in architectural engineering and civil engineering from Texarkana. 鈥淲e wanted to make that area a bustling hub to help bring back life into Goose Island.鈥�

The award-winning students were all a part of the Real Estate Development course taught by Elizabeth Small, director of business networks and instructor of real estate development.

The winning students include Adison Cummings, Paige Goodale, David Lopez, Victoria Temples, and Lamar Townsend. Presenting teams were limited to five students, but 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock students Jake Anderson and Mika Berry were also members of the real estate class who worked on the project. In Chicago, the team was assisted by industry mentors Jenna Goebig and Siteng Ma.

鈥淲e had a wonderful teacher and mentors, coaching us through the process. They provided us with the connections we needed, as well as helping us to present,鈥� said Paige Goodale, a senior double majoring in business finance and real estate. 鈥淚 learned so much about development that I never expected to learn, like how to create a letter of intent, targeting a market audience, eliminating ideas that don’t work, contacting business owners, creating connections, the process of creating comps, and how financing and construction costs are created.鈥�

Small added that her students went above and beyond on this project, letting nothing, not even a tornado, stand in their way.

鈥淭he students鈥� project paper was actually due at 4 p.m. March 31, the day the tornado struck Little Rock and Central Arkansas,鈥� Small said. 鈥淲hile our Zoom meetings kept getting interrupted for students to take shelter, the paper got turned in with eight minutes to spare. One student, Jake Anderson, had to leave to check on his grandmother鈥檚 house in Little Rock, but his first question that evening was whether the paper got turned in on time. I鈥檝e never seen such a dedicated group of students.鈥�

The students traveled to Chicago on April 14 and got to tour Goose Island, the site of the redevelopment project for the Eisenberg Foundation鈥檚 Annual Real Estate Challenge, with Goebig. Their second industry mentor, Ma, is in China, but met with the group virtually to give them tips for their presentation. Remarkably, Ma is a graduate of Little Rock Central High School, and his parents have both worked at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock in the past, leading to his desire to serve as a mentor to 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 team.

The team made their presentation to the Eisenberg Foundation on April 15, with four out of five students sporting business outfits they picked from 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 Trojan Career Closet. The students proposed what to build on a three-acre empty waterfront lot and a six-story abandoned storage building. They decided on a multi-use office building called “The Cove,鈥� with space for an LA Fitness on the top floor, a STEM innovation hub, an art gallery, WeWork space, and rooftop green space for the abandoned building.

鈥淲e wanted to renovate the building with an adaptive reuse technique for sustainability reasons,鈥� Townsend said. 鈥淭he other waterfront site would be called 鈥楾he Boatyard,鈥� and this was planned to be a destination entertainment venue with a 125,000 square-foot building with multiple vendors including Keg Grove Brewery and a space for a bowling/ arcade area. We also wanted a lot of green space along the waterfront, a water taxi stop, and space for an outdoor stage.鈥�

Victoria Temples, a senior real estate and finance major from Little Rock, added that the two proposed mixed-use buildings would create a bustling community hub that would complement the area developing around it.

鈥淎 new casino, a nearly 3,000-unit apartment complex, and expansive river trail system are currently underway, so our developments greatly enhance the surrounding area,鈥� Temples said. 鈥淏ecause we had a varied mix of uses, our development can be utilized 24/7, which is very important for the Chicago area.鈥�

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糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock was awarded the Overall Outstanding Delegation Award for their representation of the country of Qatar.

鈥淲hen we arrived, we were told we would not have the numbers to win a school award,鈥� said Owen Haynes, a sophomore political science major from White Hall. 鈥淒espite this, and because of the outstanding performance of each of our six students, 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock won the highest award for a school at that conference. This means that we were all taking advantage of parliamentary procedure, writing resolution papers, creating diplomatic relationships, giving impromptu speeches, and for some of us holding leadership positions within our councils.鈥�

The Model Arab League is a student leadership development program created by the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. It is a simulation of an international organization, the League of Arab States, which represents 22 countries.

Dr. Rebecca Glazier, faculty advisor for Model Arab League, said this was an amazing achievement for the students since only a small team of students competed, and they were two members short of a full delegation.

鈥淭hat is like winning a basketball game with only four people on the court,鈥� Glazier said. 鈥淚 am so proud of them!鈥�

糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock students who attended the competition and their committees and individual awards include:

• Owen Haynes, Summit of Arab Heads of State, Outstanding Delegation Award
• Chloe McGehee, Council of Arab Environmental Affairs Ministers, Outstanding Delegation Award
• Caleb Mimms, Council on Political Affairs, Outstanding Delegation Award
• Lamar Townsend, Council of Arab Economic Affairs Ministers, Outstanding Delegation Award
• Jack Schlotter, Joint Defense Council, Distinguished Delegation Award
• Yvonne Rodriguez, Council of Arab Social Affairs, Outstanding Delegation Award

Rodriquez, a junior from Hot Springs, said her council discussed important issues like mitigating water insecurity, especially regarding women and refugees, exploring minority populations鈥� access to education and social mobility, and the rising rates of internally displaced persons throughout the region.

鈥淢odel Arab League is a great place to hone skills like public speaking, collaborative team tasks, and writing,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a good place to refine those skills, and it鈥檚 an amazing place to meet other students around the country! I have truly enjoyed my time and have been honored to work with this team that has only strived for excellence.鈥�

Caleb Mimms, a junior political science and international studies major from Cabot, said that he loves Model Arab League because it gives him the opportunity to learn something new about a region that he previously did not know.

鈥淲e get to break down specific problems and how these problems affect current events within the region, and thus the world and our perception of it,鈥� Mimms said. 鈥淚 also get great practice for what I would like to do in the future, and that is diplomacy. I have a lot of passion for working with others to find solutions to some of the biggest problems our world faces. Finding solutions that help everyone is extremely important and something I get to practice in the Model Arab League.鈥�

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The Little Rock native visited as a special guest speaker to students in the Donaghey Scholars Honors Program, the university鈥檚 top honors program that provides free tuition, fees, room and board, a computer, and a study abroad trip for students selected for the program. Donaghey Scholars participate in an interdisciplinary curriculum that emphasizes critical thinking through the reading of primary texts, writing, and discussion.

Gen. Clark spoke to more than 50 Donaghey Scholars. The visit was connected to a special course taught by Dr. Jessica Scott, associate director of the Donaghey Scholars, and Dr. Ren茅 Shroat-Lewis, associate professor of geology, that focuses on energy policy and sustainability. He discussed the war in Ukraine and the geopolitical impact of the sanctions on Russia, especially in the field of energy.

鈥淚 am so grateful that the students had this opportunity,鈥� Scott said. 鈥淕eneral Clark has had an incredible career and is still an active part of shaping world events through his consulting work. I also cannot stress enough how much it matters to our students to see that someone with General Clark’s career graduated from high school right here in Little Rock. It is important for them to see how far they can go if they also strive for excellence in everything they do.鈥�

Junior Lamar Townsend, a double major in political science and finance/real estate, said he learned a lot from the general鈥檚 visit.

鈥淚t was a good perspective from someone who鈥檚 been in the field for so long, and it was a unique perspective to hear,鈥� Townsend said. 鈥淭he most interesting part of Gen. Clark鈥檚 visit was hearing about the history of America鈥檚 influence on foreign relations.鈥�

While Yvonne Rodriquez, a double major in sociology and political science, found Gen. Clark鈥檚 take on current political topics 鈥渆ye opening,鈥� her favorite part of the general鈥檚 talk was his three principles for how to approach life.

鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to approach life with three principles,鈥� Gen. Clark said. 鈥淒o the best you can do with what you鈥檙e doing and go into it like your life depends on it. The second thing you鈥檝e got to be is humble. The third thing you have to have is gratitude.鈥�

鈥淚t was very inspiring that he said that our generation is the one who will change things for the future, and he told us about the three things we need to do to succeed in life,鈥� Rodriquez said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I took away as very inspiring.鈥�

Following his talk, Gen. Clark spent an hour visiting with students who wanted to learn more. Scott said Gen. Clark鈥檚 visit was all the students could talk about during class the next day.

鈥淪ome of the things they talked about included how he stressed the importance of making an impact and creating the world they want to live in, starting in their own communities,鈥� Scott said. 鈥淭hey also appreciated how he made them 鈥榮ee the whole board鈥� when it comes to geopolitics and better understand the many factors that have to be considered in countries to get involved in disputes. They said it helped them to understand what is happening in Ukraine with greater depth. Several of them also mentioned how much they appreciated his warmth and interest in them.鈥�

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