As a new, first-year student, Maylene Renninger (BSBA '22) was no stranger to The Ohio State University or even Fisher College of Business. She grew up just a few miles away from the university in Grove City, and as a high school student, she participated in several pre-collegiate programs hosted at Fisher.

While those programs — particularly the Mary Helen Wolfe Chandler Future Women in Business Summit — helped her decide to pursue a specialization in finance at Fisher, her path to an interest in real estate took a little longer to materialize.

Renninger, who graduated in May with a double-major in finance and real estate and minors in environment, economy, development and sustainability, and music media and enterprise, remembers first deciding to add real estate as a minor because of the natural synergy with finance. It wasn't until she became involved with various real estate groups at Fisher and recognized the opportunities that existed in the industry that she decided to pursue real estate as a second specialization.

In her first introduction to real estate class, Renninger learned about The Ohio State University Center for Real Estate. That introduction eventually led to an influential moment in Renninger's journey as a real estate student. ''I was part of a select group of students who had the opportunity to meet with Roy March, the CEO of Eastdil Secured, a global real estate investment bank,'' Renninger said. ''It was great exposure to a real estate C-suite executive and was insightful to hear about his experiences from the very beginning of his career to the position he is in today. It's where a lot of people aspire to be. Plus, that event was really my first opportunity to practice networking.''

The dinner illustrated what was possible in real estate.

A second-year student at the time, she took advantage of more Center for Real Estate networking opportunities and also joined the Fisher Real Estate Society (FRES), a student organization created to promote careers in the real estate industry. After serving as a FRES executive board member, she was elected as its president during her fourth year.

As a result of her involvement with the center and FRES, Renninger gained knowledge and insights from a wide range of industry professionals and began to develop meaningful relationships. She secured her first internship in affordable housing by attending the center's real estate career fair. A second internship as an investment analyst at RBC Capital Markets materialized through a connection she made as a FRES member.

''I actually learned about the RBC job before it was even listed because of the connections I had made,'​​​​​​​' she said. '​​​​​​​'The center is a great way to get access to the close-knit network of real estate professionals in Columbus and beyond. I'​​​​​​​ve been fortunate to foster the right connections with the right people, which have led to several internship opportunities and now my full-time job.'​​​​​​​'

Renninger is now working as an asset management analyst for MDH Partners, an industrial real estate private equity firm based in Atlanta. The opportunity at MDH Partners was made possible thanks to a connection forged with Arun Singh, the company'​​​​​​​s chief financial officer. Singh (BSBA '​​​​​​​05), regularly meets with real estate students at Fisher to share his path to success in the industry. 

'​​​​​​​'During one of his visits to campus, I interviewed with Arun and that'​​​​​​​s how I secured my full-time job for after graduation,'​​​​​​​' she said. '​​​​​​​'Having access to alumni who are so willing to give back and help you succeed is invaluable.'​​​​​​​'

What started off as simply adding a minor to her resume has led Renninger to a community of supporters and the start of a promising career. She encourages students to keep an open mind about their potential interests and to utilize the resources available to them as Fisher students.

'​​​​​​​'Don'​​​​​​​t close yourself off to what you think you might want to do,'​​​​​​​' she said. '​​​​​​​'Be willing to put yourself out there and be open to networking and learning about different opportunities. Use your time as a student to reach out to professionals and Fisher alumni who you might not have access to otherwise. They are more than willing to share their experiences and help you figure out your interests.'​​​​​​​'