Rosalind Evans
Upon concluding his university football stint at the University of California, Davis, Darius Livingston realized that his sporting career wouldn’t advance to professional leagues. Like him, most college athletes are destined for something other than professional sports careers. Instead, Livingston transitioned into commercial real estate, influenced by a remunerated internship program that imparts essential finance and real estate investing knowledge to young students of colour.
Project Destined, the program behind Livingston’s education, was founded by former Carlyle Group principal Cedric Bobo as a social impact platform. Bobo leveraged his success in real estate investing in launching this finance program, initially for high school students in 2016 and subsequently expanded it to encompass college students, foreseeing possibilities for internships and job placements pre and post-graduation.
To foster diversity within their ranks, several major real estate development, finance, and management firms have committed to funding internships and mentoring students. These firms include well-known entities such as Boston Properties, Greystar, Brookfield, CBRE, Equity Residential, Fifth Wall, JLL, Skanska, Vornado, and Walker & Dunlop.
With over 5,000 individuals from more than 350 global universities and partnerships with over 250 real estate companies, Project Destined is now pivoting towards targeting Black college athletes specifically.
Following a successful pilot with UC Davis student-athletes, Bobo has unveiled a partnership with the Black Student-Athlete Summit, an organization dedicated to professional and academic support. The partnership will offer paid virtual internships to 100 student-athletes from nine Division I schools, entailing 25 hours of training.
Program participants will also engage with executives to examine commercial real estate transactions within their communities in real-time and partake in pitch competitions before senior industry leaders. The internship further offers scholarship opportunities and networking possibilities.
Livingston, who participated in the UC Davis pilot during his final college semester, later interned with Eastdil and Eden Housing. He is an acquisitions and development associate at Catalyst Housing Group, a California-based real estate development company, and a financial contributor to the new partnership.
Livingston attributed his transition to commercial real estate to Project Destined, which exposed him to a new industry and instilled a sense of ownership within his local communities.
At the Black Student-Athletes Summit at USC, Bobo, while announcing the latest development of Project Destined, reiterated his strong belief in individuals’ capability to effect change in their neighbourhoods through real estate ownership and management.
Despite slowly improving graduation rates, Black student-athletes often struggle in the job market after concluding their athletic careers. Project Destined offers these students a natural and promising alternative.
Various real estate firms financially back the program, including BGO, Brookfield, Catalyst Housing Group, Dune Real Estate Partners, Jemcor Development Partners, Landspire Group, Marcus & Millichap, Virtu Investments, and The Vistria Group.
Jordan Moss, another former UC Davis student-athlete and founder and CEO of Catalyst, commented on the platform’s expansion as a natural progression providing Black student-athletes viable future commercial real estate careers.
Project Destined is also collaborating with the NBA and the WNBA to provide professional athletes with more career options post their sporting tenure.
Livingston believes athletes make excellent employees due to their competitive nature and drive to outperform. “We play to win,” he summarized.
The partnership between Project Destined and the Black Student-Athlete Summit represents a significant step toward empowering Black student-athletes with opportunities in commercial real estate. By providing paid internships, training, and exposure to industry professionals, this collaboration aims to bridge the gap between athletics and professional careers, offering a pathway for these talented individuals to create change and become owners within their communities. With the support of significant real estate firms and the dedication of programs like Project Destined, a brighter and more inclusive future in the industry awaits Black student-athletes.
