An Alumna Success Story

I am a returning student  at Old Westbury who started here in 1999.  I am back here today to accomplish what I should have in 2004. My time and history here was always educational and interesting. Corey Lober, my roommate and best friend, succeeded during and after graduating from Old Westbury.

     I met Corey Lober in 1999, our freshman year here. From the day we met, there was an instant connection. We both shared the same family-life, as well as the same screams and aspirations for a successful future. Freshman year we both applied for jobs at Circuit City. It was the perfect opportunity to work and still have time for school and a social life.

     This was not enough for Corey. Halfway during our sophomore year, Corey began working administratively at Institutional Research Services on Wall Street. Her day-to-day tasks included heavy phone and client interaction in relation to subscription of stock investment advice. She remained living the dorm life, but arranged her schedule to free up two days a week, for commuting and working in the city. Her work ethic and drive were the eventual causes of her promotion; and me losing my roommate. By junior year, Corey had committed herself to her career and began commuting to Old Westbury from Brooklyn. Her schedule changed to two days a week of classes with over  ten  hours of curriculum per day, which  gave her three days in the office.

     Her hard work in her starting position got her promoted to an independent money management firm known as Horizon Asset Management. At this company, Corey was trained in the field of asset allocation and monitored accounts to see that they were trading evenly and accurately. I knew my friend was happy in this field and had a very promising future ahead of her, but then one Tuesday morning her aspirations were defeated.

     The morning on September 11, 2001 changed the direction of Corey's future. She was working in the shadow of the World Trade Center and watched  the events unfold from her window across the street. Corey knew she could no longer work downtown and relive that day on a daily basis. It was with this event that her Wall Street days ended and her real estate career began.

     About four months later, Corey joined Vornado Realty Trust, the third largest REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) in the United States.  Here, she started out as an executive assistant to the senior vice president of the Mall Division. Her responsibilities included the day-to-day management of her supervisor's schedule, the distribution of marketing materials,  and lease execution. Her hard work and dedication led to her promotion to the marketing director position of the New York City Retail Division. While in this position, Corey attended NYU and obtained her sales persons license. With this license, she was on to specialty (short-term) leasing. It was with this new responsibility that Corey knew this was the field for her. She loved meeting new people, exploring the retail market, and learning all there was to know about an area where her company had space available for occupancy.

     In March of this year, with over five years of experience under her belt, Corey was called upon by Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation, another real estate competitor, to branch out  ately accepted. Presently, Corey is a director of leasing, and leases space in several locations throughout the United States, including renowned locations, such as Union Station and Faneuil Hall.

     Her story has great importance not only for students reading this, but for me.  Corey graduated from SUNY Old Westbury with a Media and Communications degree, which does not directly relate to the positions she has ever held or is currently holding.  But Corey hated math, and admitted she still does and  Media, and Communications was the major which required the least amount of math so she opted for it. In the end, degree in Media and Communications pushed her ahead of others who were trying to get in the doors of  major  companies.