Her Story
About Emmalina
Emmalina Houston is an emerging real estate professional and University of Denver student whose passion for housing accessibility, sustainability, and community development continues to shape her academic and professional journey. Originally from South Louisiana, she relocated to Denver to pursue higher education and quickly became inspired by the city’s rapid growth, evolving neighborhoods, and housing challenges. Currently studying real estate with a strong foundation in real estate development and sociology, Emmalina has developed a broad understanding of the built environment, construction, development, property management, and urban sustainability. Her long-term vision centers on creating housing solutions that are both affordable and thoughtfully designed, reflecting her belief that housing should remain a public good accessible to all communities while still being both sustainable and aesthetic. Alongside her education, Emmalina has built an impressive background in customer service, leadership, and operations management through several years in the food service industry. Beginning her career as a food server and later advancing into management positions, she has gained hands-on experience in team supervision, customer relations, time management, and daily business operations. Her work ethic and leadership abilities have consistently distinguished her as a dependable and adaptable professional capable of balancing full-time work with full-time academic commitments. As she prepares to enter the real estate industry professionally, Emmalina is a firm believer that she should not just be “good” at real estate, but great at it, whether it’s the beginning stages of a project or finalizing interior designs upon project completion. She will continue to seek opportunities throughout all phases to gain any and all experience, but is actively pursuing opportunities in leasing, property management, and affordable housing. She is especially interested in roles that allow her to combine business knowledge with community impact, particularly within low-income housing and residential development. Guided by persistence, mentorship, and a strong balance of analytical and interpersonal skills, she approaches her career with both ambition and authenticity. Beyond academics and work, she values maintaining work-life balance through self-expression, outdoor exploration, and engagement with Denver’s local culture. With a growing professional network, industry-focused education, and a clear sense of purpose, Emmalina represents a new generation of real estate professionals committed to building an innovative built environment that has yet to be seen.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Emmalina
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to persistence, meaningful mentorship, and the ability to build strong professional relationships through networking. I also believe my success comes from balancing quantitative expertise with strong people skills—being able to understand the numbers while also understanding and connecting with people effectively.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I recently got was from a connection I made through one of my professors, who has since become not only a mentor to me, but a supporter. She told me that at my age, we shouldn't be beating ourselves up - you're gonna get a lot of no's before you get a yes. I know your parents tell you that growing up, but I don't know, it's different when you're away from your parents. It really takes somebody believing in you and your capabilities, which this mentor of mine does. She really understood where I was coming from, because it's true - I've gotten a lot of no's, but eventually I will get a yes, and that's going to be the most rewarding part of it all.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Try not to feel isolated or alone within real estate. As a female student, even at DU, where the REBE program is meant to be inclusive, I have had experiences where I would be one out of maybe five female students within some real estate courses, and even that may be overly generous. It is still a very male-dominated industry at the end of the day; they will intentionally make space for men, so you kind of have to take up space yourself. You have to make yourself bigger - you have to make room if nobody else will make room for you. It took a lot of acceptance and teaching myself that, but it definitely goes a long way, because eventually, once you take up enough space, they'll see you. You have to really stand up for yourself and know your capabilities and what you have to offer. You have to sell yourself in those types of spaces made for men, because you, in fact, can sell yourself and do everything they can.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Opportunity-wise, I find that a lot of people don't know that there are so many other entry-level positions in real estate. I'm trying to get into a leasing agent position for low-income housing, and I really enjoy that there are many different jobs you can take on - it doesn't just have to be construction or realty in the traditional sense. Being in Louisiana, that's all I saw: if you're in real estate, you're either an agent selling homes, or you're stuck doing construction, waking up at 4 am. Real estate's definitely part of corporate America, with really nice jobs that offer amazing benefits for up-and-coming agents and assistants. The hardest part is really getting started at first and having someone take a chance on you, because it's very competitive, especially out here in Denver. You don't have any hands-on experience as a student, so you're really having to be a personality hire - you have to have a good mix of both qualitative and quantitative skills. Half of it is numbers, and the other half is networking. That's all real estate is, truly, and you have to be good at both.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Work-life balance is most important to me. I'm currently going to a lot of post-graduation interviews, and when employers ask about my availability and compensation, I tell them that as an entry-level individual at this point in my career, I'm willing to work for any kind of reasonable pay, but at the end of the day, I really value work-life balance. I think it's good for the soul. There's so much to the world outside of having a career, and even though my career is a big part of who I am, I think it's important to have a taste for the arts, or for nature, or have hobbies, and fulfill those little things in your life that add to you on a more fundamental level - rooting back to who you were as a kid, before you had all these adulting responsibilities. That's a hard adjustment, going from being a kid and then being expected to have everything together, work 50 hours a week, all with minimal pay. If you're gonna work that much, you might as well have a little bit of time to yourself, and I feel like that's not stressed enough to people. A lot of people my age are getting burnt out - it's very hard to try and keep up in this day and age.
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