CREFC and NYU scholarship program celebrates the next generation of CRE professionals

NEW YORK, Aug. 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The CRE Finance Council (CREFC) and the Schack Institute of Real Estate at The NYU School of Professional Studies announced their 2025-2026 CREFC Scholars.

This year's CREFC Scholars recipients include two undergraduate scholars and four graduate scholars.

Undergraduate Scholarship Recipients:

• Matthew Volkening
• Phuc Le

Graduate Student Scholarship Recipients:   

• Souleymane Ba
• Julie Dettwiler
• Ahmed ElTir
• Juliana Rivera Vallejo

The CREFC Center for Real Estate Finance at the Schack Institute and the CREFC Endowment Committee based their selection decisions on factors such as academic excellence, leadership potential, and a career focus on commercial real estate finance. This year's pool of applicants was robust, with 37 students applying for scholarships.

In addition to receiving our merit scholarships, CREFC Scholars are granted complimentary CREFC Academic membership with access to CREFC's Resource Center and Career Center, as well as all CREFC programming. Scholarship recipients also may apply to CREFC's mentorship program, which pairs students with industry mentors. Also, recipients have access to networking opportunities and are invited to attend all CREFC's major conferences, seminars, and educational programming.

"We salute this year's CREFC Scholars Program recipients and their early accomplishments in real estate finance," said Lisa Pendergast, President and CEO, CREFC. "Now in its sixth year, our program continues to attract top-notch students by offering a host of professional development, mentorship, and educational opportunities in the commercial real estate capital markets. We look forward to continuing to work with the Schack Institute and fostering a new generation of professionals who offer fresh ideas and insights that will ensure that the CRE finance sector continues to grow and flourish."

About the CREFC Center for Real Estate Finance at the Schack Institute. Launched in 2020, the CREFC Center is a hub for industry collaboration, novel programming, and student engagement. This venture is supported by an endowment gift to NYU Schack from CREFC in 2019. In addition to student scholarships, CREFC's gift allows for an industry-leading certificate program for CREFC members and a CREFC-focused class each semester, available to all CREFC members.

For more information about the CREFC Center for Real Estate Finance at the Schack Institute, visit: CREFC Center for Real Estate Finance.

Graduate Students

Souleymane Ba

Souleymane Ba is pursuing a Master of Science in Real Estate with a concentration in Finance and Investment at New York University's Schack Institute of Real Estate. He is a member of the Hirsh Fellows program. This highly selective and specialized one-year academic program prepares students for leadership roles in the real estate industry through immersive learning experiences, mentorship opportunities, and global field intensives. Souleymane has had valuable and transformative internship experience in the real estate industry, gaining exposure to different markets and businesses, including client service, acquisition, and debt. Interning at Project Destined provided him with a comprehensive understanding of real estate fundamentals, and as a capital markets intern at CBRE, he conducted in-depth property market research. As a corporate finance intern at SL Green, he conducted lease audits, re-forecasted rental income, and performed in-depth variance analyses for a diverse portfolio of properties. His most recent internship was at Starwood Property Trust as an Investment Management intern. Souleymane graduated with a BBA in Finance & Investment at Baruch College.

Julie Dettwiler

Julie Dettwiler is pursuing a Master of Science in Real Estate. She was a fellow of the Hirsh Fellows program and has worked as an infrastructure and data center sector analyst for the NYU Reit Investment Fund, where she has conducted NAV analyses and detailed financial modeling to assess the valuation of infrastructure and data center companies. As a real estate finance intern in Hyrock AG, Julie structured and secured senior debt, bridge, and mezzanine funding in the firm's Zurich office for multifamily and office property assets. She also served as a board member for a private real estate portfolio in Basel. Julie says her passion for real estate began when she led a mixed-use property renovation in Basel in 2022, an experience that allowed her to implement sustainable design and an energy-efficient system to maximize long-term value. Julie earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business and Economics at the University of Basel in Switzerland.

Ahmed ElTir

A graduate of Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., Ahmed ElTir is pursuing a Master of Science in Real Estate. Ahmed has worked as an analyst and dispositions lead for TrustKey Offers, and he has experience working as an intern in Qara Markets, where he helped with financial modeling and financial planning for products in Saudi Arabia and Kenya. Ahmed's interest in real estate capital markets stems from a deep fascination with how financial structures not only drive projects but also "influence urban narratives." Born in Cairo, Egypt, he wants to develop his real estate finance skills in New York City and work with a debt fund, but his long-term goal is to help develop real estate in Egypt's capital city. Ahmed earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Trinity College, where he was a member of Trinity's College Finance Club risk assessment team.

Juliana Rivera Vallejo

Juliana Rivera Vallejo is currently pursuing her Master's in Real Estate Finance and Investment at the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate. Originally from Colombia, she holds a Graduate Specialization in Corporate Finance from CESA and a Bachelor's degree in Architecture from Universidad de los Andes. Before starting her master's program, Juliana worked as an Investment Associate at CCLA Group, CIM Group's Latin American branch, where she conducted feasibility analyses and due diligence for multifamily projects across Colombia. Most recently, she interned during the spring and summer semester as an Investment Associate at Centaur Properties, a boutique real estate development firm in New York City specializing in residential, hotel, and mixed-use projects. Juliana has also participated in the CREFC Debt Case Competition and the Colvin Case Study Challenge, gaining further insight into real estate capital markets and development strategy. She is excited to be an active CREFC member as she continues to build her career in New York's real estate industry.

Undergraduate Students

Phuc Le

Phuc Le is a senior at the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate, pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Real Estate Finance. He is an active member of the Schack Real Estate Club and serves as the Social Chair of the Vietnamese Student Association. Phuc's professional experience includes a summer internship at Silverstein Properties, where he screened properties for potential acquisition or development related to The Avenir project, which aims to deliver 2,000 housing units with 25 percent designated as affordable housing. His responsibilities included underwriting opportunities, building a construction model to illustrate equity contributions and loan draw schedules, and presenting findings to senior leadership. Earlier in his career, Phuc interned at Delaine Companies, underwriting affordable and workforce housing projects and preparing marketing materials. He also participated in Project Destined's internship in partnership with Welltower, where he pitched a Brooklyn multifamily value-add investment, and competed in the Boston University Hospitality and Real Estate Competition, earning a 30 percent scholarship offer toward their master's program. Recognized on the Dean's List at NYU, Phuc also supports his family's business, Blessed Hotel and Bistro, and is currently involved in the completion of a hotel development on Phu Quoc Island in Vietnam.

Matthew Volkening

Matthew Volkening is a senior at the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate, where he will earn a Bachelor of Science in Real Estate Finance with a minor in Creative Writing. He gained substantive industry experience as a 2025 Summer Investment Analyst at MCRE Partners, a private owner-operator of office and multifamily properties in New York, Washington, D.C., and Boston. In this role, he was involved in all aspects of the firm's acquisition, asset management, and market research efforts. Volkening contributed to the underwriting and diligence of an institutional-quality multifamily asset in Manhattan, which is now under contract in partnership with an international family office. On campus, Volkening is a member of the Schack Real Estate Club and a student-athlete on NYU's Men's Varsity Basketball team, where he is a UAA Champion, NCAA Division III Tournament runner-up, and participant in the program's first international excursion to Shanghai. He is on the Dean's List and is actively involved in community service through The Bowery Mission and the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

For a look at previous recipients of the CREFC Scholars program, visit: CREFC Scholars.

The CRE Finance Council (CREFC) is the trade association for the nearly $6 trillion commercial real estate finance industry with a membership that includes approximately 400 companies and 19,000 individuals. Member firms include balance sheet and securitized lenders, loan and bond investors, private equity firms, servicers, rating agencies, and borrowers. For 30 years, CREFC has promoted liquidity, transparency, and efficiency in the commercial real estate finance markets and acted as a legislative and regulatory advocate for the industry, playing a vital role in setting market standards and best practices and providing education for market participants.

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SOURCE CRE Finance Council