Blake Barwick recently wrapped up his 2025 summer internship with Beauxwright. Our team enjoyed working with him, and appreciated his strong work ethic, eagerness to learn and great sense of humor. Before Blake begins his last semester at Virginia Tech’s Pamplin School of Business, we asked for his insights and observations on his experience in the real world of real estate development.
What are you studying that led you to pursue an internship in real estate development?
I was originally studying wealth management, but I had heard such good things from my professors about a commercial real estate (CRE) concentration that I had to give it a try.
Do you think your studies prepared you for this internship with Beauxwright?
I do think they did, but in all honesty, I think I learned a lot from the internship itself. I would say school gave me the fundamentals to do this job with all the platforms that I had to use. However, to really understand the work, Beauxwright helped me get to where I needed to be. For example, I had the opportunity work on comps, which I had never done before. The team helped me find and understand the websites I needed to use and what exactly I should be looking for.
How did you find out about Beauxwright, and what made you want to work with them?
Beauxwright and my father have a business relationship, which is how I heard about them. In talking with my father, he had nothing but great things to say about the team and how they handle business. This turned out to be true, and I’m happy that I got to work with them for the past eight weeks.
What did a typical day look like for you at Beauxwright?
A typical day would be to arrive at the office around 9:15 (work started at 9:30). I would start out working on my capstone project (the new Bellflower residential development in South Charlotte), which consisted of researching different types of project information. Afternoons could be a mix of different things. Some days I would sit in on different meetings, which was a great learning experience. When needed, I also worked on side projects for team members of my capstone project.
Was there anything that surprised you about working in real estate development? Or any perceptions of development that changed over the summer?
I've grown up in a real estate family, so I saw a lot of things from the outside looking in. However, actually experiencing the difficulties of real estate almost draws me in more. In reality, it seems like something unfortunately goes wrong in every deal. But from what I gathered, if you're good problem solving, you should be successful in real estate.
Did you have a favorite project that you worked on, and if so, why?
I think it would have to be my Bellflower capstone project. This was the first time I had worked on a project like this, and the time flew by. This project also taught me a lot of the fundamentals of CRE – another reason why this my favorite. But most all, it challenged me. When I’m challenged, I tend to retain information a lot better than if it was an easy project.
Do you feel more prepared for a career in real estate development now?
I feel more prepared than I ever could have imagined, whether it's speaking the language of real estate or doing the work needed. When walking into the internship, there were so many acronyms and sayings that I didn’t know, but now I feel as if I have a grasp on a lot of things that I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t done this internship.
How would you describe Beauxwright as a company? What makes them different?
Beauxwright is a very unique company. I think their vision is more geared to the quality of the work they want to do. For example, I think they would give up a little money within a project to make it more appealing for their tenants, and this speaks to their vision as a company. It also speaks to the character of the team members, and how they see the company in unison to one another, making them as efficient as possible.
Do you plan to pursue a career in the development field?
I do see myself pursuing this career path. This internship has been a big deciding factor in choosing development for post-graduate study. It really showed me that not only will this be the career path I’ll be best at, but the one I will enjoy the most.
What is your biggest takeaway after your internship?
I know this is going to be a vague answer, but it's hard to narrow down this question to just one answer. That is because walking into the internship, it was all very new to me. But if I would say, the biggest takeaway is that to fully understand CRE, you need to work on a development project, and go through the process of a deal from start to finish.
If you could give advice to another student about interning with Beauxwright or in real estate development in general, what would it be?
I would tell them to take advantage of the knowledge that this team has. I can promise you that the six people sitting in that room know more about real estate than you do, and I don’t care what school you go to. Just be a sponge and ask any questions. The team is never going to be mad at you for asking. Then when you're out of the internship phase of your life, you can take this knowledge and apply it when you graduate college.