Sid Vemula’s time at MacEwan led directly to a promising career, just not in the way he expected. The Bachelor of Commerce alum enrolled in a marketing class, and in what seemed like a routine project, discovered a love for property management.

In Dr. Fernando Angulo-Ruiz’s MARK 312 class, Vemula found himself working on a project with Dr. Mike Annett to increase enrolment in the university’s Property Management minor.

“I had a group of amazing fellow students that I’d worked with on several projects before,” says Vemula. “We chose  Dr. Annett's project, among several others which we competed for with other groups, settled through a draw, and that luck led me to where I am today.”

As he conducted surveys and interviews to determine how best to increase interest in the study of property management, he found himself learning about – and gaining interest in – the field. Vemula and his teammates produced a paper with their findings and recommendations, which Dr. Annett then encouraged them to publish in MUSe, MacEwan’s student journal.

The project sparked a deeper interest in property management for Vemula and helped him make industry connections to pursue that interest.

“Dr. Annett saw my interest, and invited me to join him and some of his other students at property management conferences and luncheons hosted by the Building Owners and Managers Association,” says Vemula. “He also shared employment opportunities, including one with Canderel.”

Vemula applied, landed a two-month internship and, with the help of Dr. Annett and funding from Weidner Apartment Homes – whose partnership with MacEwan helped develop the university’s Property Management minor – to reimburse Canderel for wages, extended the internship into a summer work-integrated learning course, earning credits for his degree while getting hands-on experience. 

That work-integrated learning experience added another layer of value, says Vemula. “I was able to reflect on why I was doing things, what I enjoyed doing and what things I wanted to learn more about. It gave me more opportunity to grow.”

Only a month after graduating from MacEwan, he was hired full-time at Canderel within property management, where he’s been working ever since.

Although Vemula has now graduated, he isn’t finished with MacEwan. He sits as an advisor for the MacEwan University Real Estate Club – which he co-founded and served as vice president for as a student.

“It's pretty heartwarming,” he says. “The club that we established  while I was a student was just in its beginning stages, and now they’re throwing bigger events and creating a positive change within the university by helping business students navigate their careers.”