Who did you meet with today?
Kahlmus – Chief Operating Officer
Akil Manley – Regional Director (Southern California)
Mera Baker Ramos – General Counsel – Lawyer for Blueprint
Where do they work? What does the company do?
Kahlmus – Blueprint – Helps manage and run Blueprint -> Blueprint helps charter schools have a good learning environment.
Akil – Blueprint – Works mainly in the southern region – Has done projects all over California. – Does charter schools – Been on the team over 10 years
Mera – Blueprint – Helps with all the legal basis – Makes sure the company gets through with the legal side of things – Problem solving – Sets up the deal in order to fulfill the duties
What did you learn today? What were some highlights?
If its not 1+1=2, don’t touch it – Manley
Be open to your future path and don’t be stubborn believing it will be a straight one way
Talking and soft skills are important for all the fields you may partake in
Trademarks, copy rights, patents. (Helps protect businesses)
Can’t sit around and hope people open the doors for you, you want to open those doors yourself – Get your voice out there
Connect with professionals – Speak up and try getting 15 minutes of their time – Mera
Find your passions – Start with your hobbies – Advocate for yourself
What insights did you gain into the field of real estate development?
Must have an idea of what you want to build – Has to have utility value / a sort of profit within the margins
You have to understand where and what you’re building and the why – in the sense is there a NEED for it or is it just going to sit there and look pretty. – Make sure it’ accessible for the community
Make sure you do your research and there is not any environmental issues
Avoid committing to a site too early because other better potential sites may come about
What did you find the most interesting about the field after today?
The process it takes in order to find the right terrain for the property and how to make the right decision (pros & cons) whether its best suited for the community or should the client take a different approach during buying the parcel and if so they ask them to extend their geographic boundaries in order to be able to make the project a little more reasonable or accessible depending on the issues with the chosen terrain by the client
Just because you CAN build doesn’t mean you SHOULD build.
📸Juan Amador, Summer Intern
