>> Right out of high school I went to NYU for a year.
I thought I was going to be a film major.
And I decided to leave, and I ended up going to Duke University for some time and then ended
up leaving there and finishing my undergraduate at the age of 25 at the University
of Pennsylvania in Urban Studies.
I had finally the major that I was really interested in,
something that I really wanted to pursue.
Quickly thereafter, I attended Temple and received my Master's degree
in community and regional planning.
So once I figured out what it was that I wanted to do, it was a very brief --
a very short trajectory, I should say, from finishing undergrad,
graduate to joining a company that is doing exactly what I wanted to do.
I was working as an urban planner with the city of Harrisburg, and the founder of the company,
Alex Hartzler, had just sold an Internet company.
It was one of the most successful dotcoms ever in central Pennsylvania history.
He took proceeds from that and formed --
wanted to form a real estate development company focused on urban revitalization in Harrisburg.
I had gotten to know Alex while I was an urban planner at the city.
We had conversations, and he had said why don't you join WCI partners, joined as a VP.
Within three years, he stepped away, and I took over as president.
So, again, it was a very compressed trajectory from undergrad, graduate school to taking
over this multimillion dollar company.