Summer Internship Spotlight: Sofia Olivera (MBA’24): Multifamily Development Summer Associate at Hines

Each year, Georgetown McDonough students spend their summers in Washington, D.C., across the nation, and around the world working in corporate, nonprofit, and government organizations. Meet a few of our graduate and undergraduate students in our 2023 Summer Internship Spotlight series.

Tell us about your summer internship.

This summer, I interned at Hines in the company’s Washington, D.C., office as a multifamily development summer associate. Hines is one of the largest privately held real estate investors and managers in the world. 

How did your internship relate to your professional or personal interests? 

My internship directly relates to both my professional and personal interests as I have always been fascinated by the real estate industry and how it directly impacts the way people live.. Prior to starting the MBA program at Georgetown, I worked at Wells Fargo doing commercial real estate lending and wanted to switch over to the equity side. At Hines, I’ve been able to do exactly that and work on various projects across the DMV region.

How did you find the internship? 

I found my summer internship through McDonough CareerView (MCV) and applied through the MCV and Hines websites.

What’s the most interesting or impactful thing you worked on during your internship?

The most impactful thing I worked on this summer was my capstone project. At the end of the internship, I made a presentation on how the company can rethink the current multifamily leasing model. I prepared a feasibility analysis on what my idea would look like at one of the properties. After the presentation, I was connected with the management team at Hines as they are interested in implementing these recommendations.

What did a typical day look like? 

During my time at Hines, I mainly worked on three multifamily projects that are located in the DMV area. Two of the projects were in the pre-development  stage and the other was already under construction. Although each day varied quite a bit depending on deadlines and project status, I would work on financial modeling, investor decks, new business sourcing, and project management. Once every couple of weeks I would do site visits to different Hines projects as well.

What advice do you have for other students? 

I would suggest that MBA interns reach out to people in the industry they are interested in exploring. Coffee chats and networking are very important, as well as understanding first-hand what people in the industry do in their daily roles. This knowledge will help you determine if the role, or industry, is something you are interested in.