A Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL)-sponsored team made up of nine Florida A&M University students were crowned champions in the inaugural Project Destined National Pitch Competition for the spring 2021 semester.
Team JLL presented a 58-unit multifamily investment located in Davie, Fla., to a panel of real estate executives, journalists, and investors on April 2. JLL is a global leader in commercial real estate and investment services.
The FAMU team members are:
Edd-lentz Philistin, senior accounting student, Coral Springs, Fla.
Jordan Gilliard, senior business administration student, St. Petersburg, Fla.
Joshua Brown, junior business administration student, Jacksonville, Fla.
Lisa Gordon, junior facilities management student, Waldorf, Maryland
Omari Harris, senior business administration student, Cantonment, Fla.
Randall Leath Jr., junior finance business administration student, Cary, N.C.
Solomon Smith, freshman business administration student, Ocoee, Fla.
Talyn Hurley, sophomore accounting student, Lauderhill, Fla.
Julian Walker, junior accounting student, Atlanta.
Luis Naranjo, a senior finance and real estate student from the University of Central Florida was also a member of Team JLL.
Internship Opportunities
Project Destined is a leading social impact platform that provides training in financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and real estate. Project Destined partners with corporations, schools, and nonprofits to deliver training using its proprietary e-learning platform and live courses. Scholars emerge with the skills, confidence, experiences, and networks that prepare them to secure a solid first job and to become stakeholders in their community. For more information, visit projectdestined.com.
For students interested in commercial real estate, Project Destined will return to FAMU this summer. The internship program will be accepting 10 undergraduate students with interests in commercial real estate. As part of the program, interns will work four to six hours per week focusing on real estate training, participating in a bi-weekly Executive Speaker Series, and preparing materials for a “Shark Tank” style pitch competition where teams of students present a real estate deal to industry leaders. Interns receive a $500 stipend for their participation in the program and have the opportunity to compete for $5,000 throughout the program.
For more information on the program, join Project Destined’s virtual information session at 11 a.m. EST on Thursday, April 29. Click here to register. To apply for the internship program, visit community.projectdestined.com.
The competition
JLL team members started their journey with Project Destined in early February after being accepted into the program as interns. Over the course of eight weeks, the team participated in real estate training, Executive Speaker Series, and office hours with mentors.
Following each rotation of sessions, the team competed against Howard
University, Morehouse College, and other FAMU students in bi-weekly regional pitch competitions focused on presenting a live real estate deal. After prevailing in the regional competitions, the team advanced to win the Project Destined National Championship, where they competed against the top teams from New York, Los Angeles, and Atlanta.
JLL’s Miami office, led by Chris Drew and Manny De Zárraga, provided nine employees who served as mentors for the team.
“From the start, the students were extremely engaged and worked tenaciously over a number of late nights with the JLL Capital Markets team to sharpen their skills and, ultimately, win the competition,” said Drew, co-head of JLL’s Miami Capital Markets office.
Click here to view Team JLL’s championship presentation.
