trevordayschool

Eric Raphael Freeman '08 Investment Banker, Lazard Frères & Co. 3 8 T R E V O R D AY S C H O O L n SUMMER 2 0 1 5 – 2 0 1 6 How long were you a student at Trevor and what's your fondest memory? I was a "lifer" at Trevor, from Pre-K through 12th grade. My best memories are of playing on the basketball team with Coach Feigin, solving Rubik's Cubes with Mr. Cutrofello, and making movies with Ms. Venkatesh. How did Trevor influence you? Trevor's unique culture and teaching methods help all of its students become: (i) curious; (ii) adventurous; and (iii) community-oriented. ese three traits, all of which Trevor instilled in me, have shaped my post-Trevor life. Curiosity During my time at Trevor, I was always encouraged to ask lots of questions and was always given the opportunity to pursue whatever I may have been passionate about at any given moment — whether it was physics, moviemaking, or poetry. is fostered a curiosity that eventually led to my interest in real estate. I arrived at Cornell in 2008 at the apex of the Great Recession, and became extremely curious as to why the economy was in such turmoil. When I learned that mortgages essentially triggered the downfall, I became fascinated with real estate. Despite its reputation for being the most boring of all industries, I realized that real estate encompasses every aspect of life and is perfect for someone who is curious about everything. Steve Jobs once said he wanted to be at the intersection of technology and liberal arts. Real estate, in a way, is at the intersection of everything: technology (think of the impact of Amazon and e-commerce on malls), sociology (millennials [gathering] in urban centers, declining marriage rates resulting in increasing demand for rental apartments), and the economy (higher salaries and employment result in greater demand for office space). Adventurousness Trevor always encourages students to pursue their passions and explore their interests. e school's accepting and welcoming attitude (and especially its relatively small class sizes) gives students a myriad of opportunities—whether playing on sports teams, starring in the school play, or dancing in Choreolab. Trevor promotes adventurousness, a quality that led me to move to Las Vegas for my first job after college— where I worked as an analyst at Caesars Entertainment, the casino-hotel company. I had been recruited through my real estate course work at Cornell, flown to Las Vegas, and enticed by the exciting, transformative developments on which I would have the opportunity to work. e big Las Vegas casino- hotel companies recruit heavily from Cornell—one of the few schools with an undergraduate hospitality-focused program. I was one of eight Cornell grads to start at Caesars the summer of 2012. At Caesars, I analyzed the financial performance of each of the company's 50-plus U.S. properties across the business segments—the casino, restaurants, hotel rooms, retail stores, and entertainment venues/ attractions—in order to assist the on- property management team improve performance at each asset. I also assisted Caesars in assessing potential acquisitions of new properties and divestitures of their existing properties, and helped evaluate development opportunities by helping the company decide which projects it should take on (and which it shouldn't). Some of the development projects I worked on include the High-Roller Observation Wheel, Drai's Beachclub and Nightclub as well as Caesars' bid for the sole gambling license that had become available in Boston in 2011. (It was ultimately won by Wynn Resorts Limited; the Wynn Boston Harbor development is currently set to open in 2019). Sense of Community After two good years at Caesars, I moved back to NYC to be an investment banker in the real estate group at Lazard. I left Caesars partly because I wanted to broaden my exposure to real estate from just casino-hotels located in those few cities where gambling is legal, to a wider variety of sectors and geographies. I had also become less enchanted with the casino industry. I believe gambling should be legal: It generates needed tax dollars for states and arguably causes less harm to people's lives than other taxable "sins," such as smoking and alcohol consumption—and, in my opinion, the consumption of sugary food and beverages. But I think there should be much stronger regulation

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