Beta Theta Pi - University of Wisconsin

3 ALPHA PI CHAPTER B rothers of Alpha Pi, I hope you are all well, either in Wisconsin or in your various corners of the globe. I'm excited to write this contribution for The Alpha Pilot, which has made an impressive resurgence in recent years, and I am excited to read it every time I see it appear in my inbox. I am beyond proud of the guys that have transformed the Beta house in recent years, both physically and culturally. When Jacob Hentges '18 recruited me as a sophomore, there couldn't have been more than 50 actives in the chapter, and the house was painted an unattractive yellow with little more character than a Louisiana penitentiary. Since then, the undergraduates and alumni have come together like a true family to take the chapter to another level. I am especially appreciative to Bart Kocha '80 for being the spark that lit that flame. I hope to see that momentum continue both with hard work and financial contributions. Since graduating from Wisconsin in 2019— the last year of college before the COVID-19 pandemic—I have been working in the real estate industry in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Most of my early career success has been due to my connections to Wisconsin and relationships that I made throughout my time as an undergraduate in Madison. My first job in Jackson Hole was working for a luxury ski villa rental company. I was invited to an interview after sending in my resume, which included Beta Theta Pi House Manager, of course, and I appeared only to find out that the interview was a formality—I was already hired. All three managers in the interview were graduates of the UW system, two from UW-Madison and one from UW-Stevens Point. Throughout this job, I learned the importance of customer service, sales, and dealing with high-net-worth individuals. What was the common trait of all these high-level people I was working with? Every single client owned real estate and was now renting their property Where Are They Now? Sam Haack, #2161, UW 2019 Shares the Everlasting Beta Connection out through our company to make the asset pay for itself, plus additional cash flow. I knew I had to dig deeper into the world of real estate—I was onto something. After a year and a half of working my way up to homeowner relations manager at a luxury rental company, I transitioned to a purely sales role as a real estate agent at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. I have learned marketing, communication, contracting, and legal skills and have no plans of changing career paths in the future. Every day, I wake up energized to work, put deals together, and make commission checks. I have formed a partnership with another Wisconsin graduate, Sean Brawner '07, who handles our commercial deals while I sell our residential properties. We have put transactions together totaling over $10 million with other UW-Madison graduates thus far. COVID-19 put immense upward pressure on rent and housing prices, and before I waited around for my rent to double or triple, I invested in a condo just outside of town that allowed me to live for free by renting out the other room to—you guessed it—another UW-Madison alumnus for the same monthly amount as my mortgage payment. House- hacking as they call it. I highly suggest this housing strategy to all recent Beta graduates, as it frees up an amazing amount of monthly cash flow for you to invest, use to travel, or just to speculate on some NFTs. Although I could write pages about how much fun I have had in the real world so far, to the undergraduates, I hope this brief recap of my first three years out of college has given you a glimpse into what is possible after graduation and how there are many alumni out there, like myself, willing to give you the exact blueprint for something you have no idea where to start with. Chances are, if you want to achieve something, there is someone in the Alpha Pi or Wisconsin alumni network who has already done the same thing and is willing to show you how. If any alumni or undergraduates are interested in the real estate industry or the Jackson Hole area, please don't hesitate to reach out. Yours in _kai_, Sam Haack, #2161, UW 2019 (307) 699-1313 samh@bhhsjacksonhole.com Jake Tottleben ̓20, Will Michaels ̓20, Sam Haack v19, John Boosalis ̓20, and Will DeAngelis ̓21 came together in March to ski Breckenridge, Colorado.

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