CT/Western MA SIOR Chapter awards 2024 scholarships

Storrs, CT The Connecticut/Western Massachusetts Chapter of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors has picked the scholarships for the spring 2024 semester at the University of Connecticut. Each student was awarded $4,000 from endowed funds managed by the UConn Foundation, and each received an additional $1,500 matching award directly from the Chapter and SIOR Foundation.

The scholarship recipients are Molly McKeon, George Andrews, Andrew Cubell, and Daniel Della Volpe. The UConn Real Estate Center scholarships are funded from the chapter sponsored Samuel F. Pierson and Carl F. Traub scholarships, with matching dollars provided by The SIOR Foundation. 

All of the students are studying real estate at the University of Connecticut, graduating this May, and seeking positions in the real estate industry.

• Molly McKeon is a senior majoring in real estate and urban economics and is a vice president of the Real Estate Society.

• George Andrews is a senior majoring in finance with a minor in real estate and is also a vice president of the Real Estate Society. Andrews did an internship last summer with Lexington Partners in Hartford.

• Andrew Cubell is a senior majoring in marketing with a real estate minor. Cubell is also an officer of the Real Estate Society and did an internship with Bozzuto last summer.

• Daniel Della Volpe is a senior majoring in finance with a real estate minor. Volpe is a member of the Real Estate Society and the Student Managed Fund on campus.

In memory of former members, Sam Pierson and Carl Traub, the chapter has two scholarships in place that have funded awards to deserving UConn students majoring in real estate for over two decades. More recently the chapter’s scholarships have been enhanced with additional funds from SIOR Foundation, whose purpose is to give back to the commercial real estate community in supporting initiatives that educate, enhance, and expand the industry by promoting best practices and educating the next generation of professionals. 

The Samuel F. Pierson Scholarship was established in 1985 to honor the life of a founding member of the Connecticut Chapter of the SIOR. A donation made by the chapter and its members to endow the scholarship has grown over time from additional donations including a significant contribution by Pierson’s widow in 1994 (a condominium in Stamford). Since inception the endowment has provided in excess of $400,000 in scholarship support to over 200 students studying real estate at the University of Connecticut. In addition, the chapter has provided over $150,000 in direct matching support to these students.

Samuel F. Pierson, SIOR

Sam Pierson was a lifetime resident of Stamford, CT where in the ‘60s, ‘70’s and early ‘80’s he was the dominate commercial real estate broker responsible for helping many major corporate headquarters relocate to Fairfield County Connecticut. Some of the companies that he worked with in locating sites included Olin Corporation, General Electric Company, Richardson Vicks Corporation, Stauffer Chemical Corporation, Union Carbide and Exxon Chemical Corporation. 

Pierson was president of the Stamford Board of Realtors in 1949 and was instrumental in establishing the Connecticut Chapter of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR). In 1971, he was elected national president of SIOR, the leading global professional office and industrial real estate association.