As we mentioned in our Introduction post about this year’s six College Associates, we’re looking forward to getting to know them a bit better with the following questions! First up, Niharika!

Niharika is in her senior year at UW-Madison and is majoring in Computer Science, Economics and Real Estate. This is her first year at S.C. Swiderski and she is in the Real Estate & Development Department.

Question #1: What motivated you to pursue an internship at S.C. Swiderski?

Niharika: When I came here for an interview with Jacqui, I was very happy to be in an atmosphere where each employee was rooting for the other, people were respectful, curious and friendly and everyone that I spoke with was a master in what they were doing for the company. The interview went well but when I left Mosinee, I felt emotionally attached to the people at S.C. Swiderski and if given a chance, I wanted to be in the same atmosphere and learn from the best people in the industry. The most attractive aspect was that I was allowed to customize the internship so I can work on projects in the predevelopment, construction, leasing and maintenance departments and get a holistic real life experience of working at a Real Estate firm.

Question #2: What do you hope to gain from this experience?

Niharika: I hope to get an in depth exposure and experience in predevelopment and construction as those two are my favorites and I want to get a feel of real world numbers, for example, I want to be able to understand if a cap rate is high/low in a particular situation and to use it to determine if it is a good deal.  I also want to be able to take part in discussions with educated and well-informed people in the field of real estate, give intelligent inputs and shock people!! Haha!

Question #3: What is your dream job?

Niharika: My ideal job right after graduation should include land acquisitions and development work. I want to make the most iconic buildings. My dream job will be being the CEO of my own development company and working for myself.

Question #4: What are your plans after graduating UW-Madison?

Niharika:  I am applying for full time positions. So after I graduate I want to start working in development right away. I am also working to start my own cosmetic brand, which God willingly will launch in December, which is when I graduate.

Question #5: What are three things people might be surprised to know about you?

Niharika:

1.) I came in the top 1% of India in my senior year high school exams, which are made and corrected by the Indian Central Government.

2.) I love to cook.

3.) I studied a semester at Stanford University.