A Manager Spotlight on Brooke Shachoy ('22), General Manager of Real Estate
For this month’s manager spotlight, we would like to introduce Brooke Shachoy (’22) the general manager of the Student Agencies Building. Brooke is a junior from Boston, Massachusetts studying in the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management with concentrations in finance and entrepreneurship and a real estate minor. On-campus, Brooke is a starting skipper on the varsity sailing team and is co-president of her social sorority.
Since first arriving at Cornell, Brooke always wanted to join the Student Agencies team. Drawn in by the opportunity to run a business as an undergraduate student, Brooke was inspired by the hands-on experience it presented. As a varsity athlete with limited free time, Brooke was held back in her freshman and sophomore years from joining SAI. During a normal fall and spring, Brooke spends most weekends traveling to regattas with her sailing team. With the onset of Covid-19 and the subsequent restrictions placed on athletic training, Brooke was finally able to apply to Student Agencies in the fall of her junior year and join the team.
Another factor that drew Brooke to Student Agencies was her unique connection with the organization. Brooke hails from a long line of Cornellians with her grandparents, mom, aunt, and uncle all attending the university. Even more interesting, that same uncle serves on the board of Student Agencies, Inc. and her mom attended Cornell with Kyle Karnes, the agency’s CEO. With encouragement from her family, Brooke was determined to explore all that Student Agencies has to offer.
As the general manager of real estate, Brooke has played a large role in The Student Agencies Building Redevelopment project. As soon as she joined the team, Brooke was faced with the initial challenge of a steep learning curve. Due to the scale of the project, Brooke had to rapidly acclimate to her role to keep with the project’s timeline. Luckily, Brooke transitioned into her position seamlessly. So far, she has worked closely with Charlie, Kyle, and the rest of the Real Estate team to order the furniture for the new building, manage the TV and spectrum negotiations, and lease out 98% of the building’s residential capacity-- all well ahead of schedule. Brooke’s success in this role comes as no surprise given her qualifications. Having worked under her dad in real estate development, Brooke brought very useful experience to her position that allowed her to make meaningful contributions from the start.
Looking forward, Brooke is most excited about continuing her close involvement in The Student Agencies Building redevelopment. This project has allowed her the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the many areas of real estate. As general manager, Brooke has gained a greater appreciation for the transferable skills she has learned in the classroom as a Dyson student. Most importantly, Brooke has learned about the flexibility required to work in development: “when you have a role like this, you have to be ready at all times to take a phone call from a tenant or respond to an email...it’s very important to be able to multitask and stay on top of things.” By the end of her tenure, Brooke hopes to grow the business, establish an organized method for tracking financials, and streamline processes in order to ensure the success of future managers.
