CREFC Center for Real Estate Finance Announces Sixth Annual CREFC Scholars

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…