Scholarship Opportunities Available!

We are excited to announce that we have given three scholarships in 2022.

PNW Retail Group Scholarship

The PNW Retail Group wants to encourage the next generation of men and women entering the Outlet industry with our new scholarship opportunity for college students. Applicants must be a high school senior, college freshman, sophomore, or junior and plan to enroll or are currently enrolled in a 4-year bachelor’s degree program. A career interest in retail and real estate is preferred.

All scholarships are one-time award that can range from $2000 - $2,500. The scholarship also includes travel and entrance into the ICSC annual shopping center conventions in either Las Vegas (May) or New York (December). Mentoring by senior industry professionals will be offered to all scholarship recipients during the convention.

2022 PNW Retail Group Scholarship Recipient

Yayi Ding
Yayi attends The University of Texas at Austin. She has maintained a 3.96 GPA. She anticipates graduating in May 2024. Yayi is involved as the VP of Marketing for the Undergraduate Real Estate Society. She is competing in the Mulroy Real Estate Challenge and her team is now in the semifinals. She is also involved in the Commercial Real Estate Women’s Network (CREW). She has interned at Project Destined as a Commercial Real Estate Intern, The McCombs School of Business as a Research Assistant and AChoice Mortgage. According to her essay, her passion in real estate was first ignited because of her mother, who is a residential real estate broker in Plano, Texas. Growing up, Yayi’s Mom would often passionately tell her about the immense opportunities with real estate. Whether that was showing her a construction site or drawing different zonings, these moments sparked her earliest curiosity.

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Charlie Devine Scholarship

To understand the meaning of this scholarship award you must first understand the man whom
this scholarship honors.

• Charlie was a Captain in the U.S. Army. He graduated first in his airborne class at Fort
  Benning, Georgia, and served in the Army Reserves as Executive Officer of Headquarters
  Company, 11th Special Forces Group. He was awarded the ROTC/NDCC Medal of
  Heroism.
• He spent the bulk of his career in commercial real estate. He founded Devine Realty
  Consultants in 1986, and for 32 years worked for national chains finding sites and
  negotiating leases for new stores all over the country. He was an active board member
  of DOC&R (now PNW Retail Group), and he was inducted into the DOC&R Outlet
  Industry Hall of Fame in 2013. He had a passion for his job, and incredible amount of fun
  doing it for almost five decades, and he made lifelong friends along the way.
• He lived in Washington Township for 44 years and was actively involved in almost every
  aspect of the community. He served as Councilman and Mayor, a member and former
  Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus; coached dozens of youth sports teams for his
  children, He was also a devoted parishioner of Our Lady of Good Counsel.
• Charlie was devoted to his family which included his wife of fifty years Lynn, and 4
  children and 9 grandchildren.

Charlie Devine spent his lifetime not only achieving remarkable success but giving back to his
industry and community. He was always there for you when you needed information, advice, or
a delightful story. He was the type of person who would light up a room with his smile. He was
an enthusiastic person who was friends to all. The scholarship celebrates his legacy and
encourages the recipient to give more than they take from any situation: to not just be a
colleague, associate, or partner, but to be a friend to all you encounter. The recipient should
strive to work hard, have fun, and give back.

2022 Charlie Devine Scholarship Recipient

Alex Scampitilla
Alex is originally from Columbus, Ohio and is attending Ohio Sate University where he maintains a 3.38 GPA. He anticipates graduation in May 2023. Alex is the President of Fisher Real Estate Society and is Pledge President of his fraternity Delta Sigma Pi. He will start a summer internship program with JLL in June 2022. According to his essay, His five-year goal is to be a well-rounded professional working for a large real estate firm. Also, from his essay “To me, real estate is an industry in which I will be able to build wealth and better my community, all while meeting amazing people along the way.”

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Darren Was Memorial Scholarship

The Darren Was scholarship was established in the summer of 2019 to honor the life of Darren
Was and to continue his legacy of positivity, excellence, generosity, and service. Darren was a
Senior Vice President for The Was Group as a Commercial Real Estate Consultant collaborating
with his father and brother in North Haledon, New Jersey. Darren Was smart, funny, and
charming. He quickly became the life of the party wherever he went. He excelled at
commercial real estate and was known for placing retailers in the perfect place and space. The
Darren Was Memorial Scholarship is an annual, merit-based scholarship, which focuses on
rewarding ambitious, driven, goal-oriented individuals with an interest in commercial real
estate. Financial need and overcoming adversity in life to achieve goals also will be considered.

2022 Darren Was Scholarship Recipient

Yasmeen Said
Yasmeen attends The University of Texas. She maintains a 3.30 GPA and is looking to graduate in May 2023. Yasmeen is involved with the Undergraduate Real Estate Society, McCombs Leadership program, University Securities Investment Team, UCREW Woman’s Competition, Girls Who Invent Online Program and ICSC Launch Academy. She had a summer internship with Evergreen Development Corporation. According to her essay, she is from a second-generation Mexican Household lead by a single mom of two. Also, from her essay “Retail real estate specifically appeals to my personality because of the creative aspect that goes into creating the magical retail experience. I am greatly excited by the many fantastic, diverse opportunities in retail real estate.”

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Other recent scholarship winners are: