Real Estate Students Network With Wine-Tasting, Plan Future Goals

A wine-tasting event held at the University Museum last week was designed to help prospective real estate practitioners from Ole Miss network and learn necessary socializing skills.
The event is the brainchild of Blake Tartt III, Houston-based developer, Ole Miss grad, businessman and the President of the Real Estate Advisory Board for the University of Mississippi’s School of Business.
“We started this program two years ago with the idea that our real estate majors in the School of Business could really benefit by networking with alumni in the business,” Tartt said. “These talented young people will soon be looking for their first job and are interested in the regional, national and international trends that are affecting real estate, which is one of the biggest components in our entire economy. Secondarily, we schedule social events, such as this wine-tasting, that offer young people who may come from rural areas in the state of Mississippi and other locations exposure to social skills that will be a vital part of their interaction with clients.”

Tartt is talking about talented young would-be real estate movers like Carson Otter who sees the real estate business as an opportunity to help people with one of the biggest purchases they will make in their lives. “When I look around this room (the wine-tasting event in the University Museum’s main display room) I see people of all ages and status who are serious about selling real estate,” said Otter, who is still recovering from a brutal attack at a football game last year that landed him in the news. “They’re serious about helping others and not simply making as much money as possible. This event and other seminars sponsored by Mr. Tartt and the Real Estate Advisory Board are such a valuable asset to us as students.”

Real Estate major Travon Hobbs, from Greenville, Miss., has a special motivation for learning as much as he can about the real estate business. “When I first came here, I was undecided about a major but interacting with the great teachers in the business school and the experienced professionals you meet at Advisory Board-sponsored events has led me to a life-changing decision,” he said. “When I graduate and get my license, I plan to go to New York for a while and learn everything I can — and then I’ll return to Greenville. My plan is to buy up as much of the run-down property I can and re-develop the area to make it a better, more attractive community in which to live and work.
Many of the graduates of the business school in real estate have already made their mark. One of those, Trevor Smith, is working in Atlanta helping industrial tenants with commercial real estate deals. The 2010 Ole Miss grad has forged a close professional and personal relationship with Blake Tart and he is now regularly negotiating six-figure deals. But Smith adds the thrill of his job is not all about money. He is president of the Atlanta chapter of the JCs and is working hard to advance economic development throughout the Atlanta area.

Andy Knef is editor of HottyToddy.com. You can contact Andy about this story at andy.knef@HottyToddy.com.