BRIAN AIKENS

I interned at Capstone Properties during the summer of 2009. It was a great opportunity to get work experience in behind the scenes real estate. This internship was not directly related to my majors Finance or Marketing, but it was a good all-around experience. I plan on establishing a career in real estate investing, so learning the property management and renovation aspects are very beneficial. The projects I was given developed a variety of life skills. I have used many of my recently learned renovation skills, as well as affective rental property searching.

The dynamic work environment made everyday different. I had a different responsibility daily. My responsibilities varied from; landscaping, building warehouse equipment, outside home needs, office work, showing properties, apartment turnovers, and assortment of renovation work. The diverse renovation work ranged from hanging drywall, stripping wall paper, painting, building corner chases, basic plumbing, basic electric installations, and much more. Also, the people I worked with were great. Everybody was friendly, patient, and hard working. I learned great knowledge from a licensed home inspector with plentiful years of home inspecting and home renovating experience.

After a few weeks, I felt very comfortable with my responsibilities. Management guided projects efficiently by training and checking in often, and not micro-managing too much. I was able to build upon the experience gained at the beginning of the summer and, when given a task, I had more freedom and responsibilities on how to complete that task. For example, it was my job to turnover some apartments, and using my own judgment, make a list and start working on all the cleaning, painting, and possible renovations.

I have recently been interviewing for sales positions, and the prospective organizations and employers have been very impressed that I have interned for Capstone. Most students do not have this level of experience on their resume, and it has given me a big advantage in striving for success. Also, I have received 4 credit hours for my internship experience. Ohio University based this decision on the amount of hours and experience gained from my internship with Capstone. Overall, I learned so many valuable life skills that have benefited me already, and will continue. I received a tremendous amount of positive feedback and I am very proud to say I interned for Capstone Properties the summer of 2009.