Real estate professional uses MRED degree to push her career, industry forward

Julianna Jankowski was working in residential real estate when she decided she wanted to make a career pivot. Furthering her education with a Master of Real Estate Development degree from ASU and W. P. Carey led her on the path to her current role as Vice President of Risk Management at Morgan Stanley.

Julianna Jankowski née Calvin (MRED ’10) was working in residential real estate when she decided she wanted to make a career pivot. Unfortunately, this was during the recession of 2008 and 2009, so breaking into the commercial real estate industry, as Jankowski desired, was difficult.

But furthering her education with a Master of Real Estate Development degree from ASU and W. P. Carey was a viable option, and one that led Jankowski on the path to her current role as Vice President of Risk Management at Morgan Stanley. “The rest was history,” she says about applying to the MRED program.

We spoke to Jankowski about her experiences at ASU and her continued relationship with MRED faculty and fellow alumni at the W. P. Carey School of Business.

Why W. P. Carey?

Jankowski’s MRED program experience gave her the industry knowledge and experience needed to transition from residential to commercial real estate. It was in classes regarding valuation that her appreciation for the subject grew, eventually leading to her first appraisal job.

Gaining insight into different facets of real estate is one of her biggest takeaways from the program.

“Everyone comes from a wide range of experience and specialty in the industry,” she says. “This is one of the only times in your career that you are in the same room for an extended period with people from every side of the industry at all different experience levels.”

Now settled into her career, Jankowski continues to stay involved with W. P. Carey and her classmates through the MRED alumni network. She often reaches out to fellow alumni for information for her work. “The relationships you build in MRED are critical,” she says.

Why real estate?

Jankowski is a self-proclaimed “data nerd,” which has made working in valuation and appraisal a perfect fit for her. “I enjoy reading and following market trends and solving real estate valuation problems,” she says.

She also believes that real estate is an important part of our society, especially when considering the human aspect of it all.

“Real estate is people,” she says. “That's it. The movement of humans is real estate. Understand how humans interact and operate within a specific atmosphere and you can understand the ‘why’. The rest is all sticks, bricks, and math.”

What's next?

For students who may be considering pursuing an MRED degree, Jankowski offers this practical and valuable advice. “Try to envision where in the world you want to practice while in the program and try to develop relationships with others that are related to that location.”

She found a lot of value in W. P. Carey’s emphasis on ethically minded and sustainable development practices, which continue to become more relevant within the industry. “Environmental impact has always been a topic of interest for me in my career, and it was nice to be ahead in that universe of knowledge compared to others in the industry,” she says.

As for what Jankowski hopes to see more of in the future of real estate? She believes her subsection of the industry, valuation and appraisal, could use an “overhaul” to become more efficient and diverse.

“Valuation has struggled to acquire and retain talent,” she says. “I would love to see a more diverse and robust network of talent overall.”