‘Gut Feeling’ Leads to Successful Career for UA Little Rock Grad Victoria Temples
Victoria Temples has always believed in following her gut, which led her to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
A week before she began college in 2019, the Little Rock native was set to attend another college as a biology major, but Temples had a change of heart and has never looked back.
“I had a gut feeling that I should go to UA Little Rock and study something that was more interesting to me than biology,” Temples said. “I knew UA Little Rock had a good business program and was the only college in the state with a real estate program. That is what really piqued my interest.”
While Temples is graduating this semester with a double finance degree in general finance and real estate, she has already started her new career as an assistant property manager in the Property Management Division at Colliers International.
“Through UA Little Rock’s Real Estate Program, I got to attend many events with the Commercial Real Estate Council,” Temples said. “That is where I made connections with many people who work at Colliers, and that is why I knew I’d really like the job, because of the great work environment at Colliers International.”
While at UA Little Rock, Temples served as president of the Finance and Economics Association, where she helped organize events with leading industry experts in Arkansas. Additionally, she volunteers as a housing liaison, where she helps the homeless find affordable housing.
Temples said the highlight of her college career was being a part of the team that won the Real Estate Challenge this semester in Chicago, which brought in $5,000 for scholarships for real estate students at UA Little Rock. UA Little Rock was the Undergraduate Division Winner of the Harold E. Eisenberg Foundation’s Annual Real Estate Challenge, which matches teams from selected universities in a competition focusing on a high-profile development/redevelopment project in the Chicago Metropolitan area.
“It was a phenomenal experience, and I absolutely loved it,” she said. “My favorite part was getting to see the full scale of a large development project, and what goes on from the beginning stages of planning to the end stages of the proposal. I learned so much knowledge that will be invaluable to my future career.”
The new graduate leaves future UA Little Rock students with the following advice.
“It’s great to form connections and grow in your professionalism,” Temples said. “Going to events in the industry you want to work in is critical. Reach out to your professors and try to form connections with them. They have a lot of resources to help you get involved in your industry.”
