Abby McPherson took advantage of every opportunity to network, learn and grow
Abby McPherson
This will not be Abby McPherson’s first University of Denver Commencement ceremony.
Growing up in Denver’s Platt Park neighborhood, mere minutes from campus, McPherson has spent her fair share of time inside Magness Arena. She’s watched plenty of hockey games and seen the DU students who nannied her and her brother toss their mortarboards
On Saturday, June 13, 2026, however, the spotlight will be on her. The Daniels College of Business senior will walk across the stage, receive her bachelor’s degree in real estate and the built environment, and quickly set her sights on a promising future.
“[The ceremony] represents all the hard work I’ve done at DU,” inside and outside the classroom, McPherson said. “It does a good job of wrapping that all up into a bow and putting me on my next path, wherever that might be.”
It would take a lot of ribbon to package everything McPherson crammed into her four years at DU. She gained a reputation at the Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management for a tenacious pursuit of extra-curricular opportunities, something she traces to her upbringing.
“My mom is probably the hardest working person I know,” McPherson said. “I see her working incredibly hard and the tangible results from that. That was instilled early on and I was able to realize that if I put myself out there and went after things, I was going to achieve whatever I put my mind to.”
Abby McPherson has spent her fair share of time in Magness Arena, including when she saw her nanny graduate from DU.
Narrowing her focus
Initially, McPherson cast a wide net. At Littleton High School, she joined DECA—a national organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management. The experience solidified an interest in the business realm.
“I liked solving problems, but also to be able to create relationships with people,” she said. “I felt like, with business, I was able to do both.”
After a gap year, McPherson arrived at Daniels and quickly got to work figuring out the areas she was most interested in. She took classes in as many disciplines as she could: finance, management, accounting, business analytics. The Microsoft Excel certification and public speaking skills she gained along the way were critical too.
She ultimately settled on the Burns School.
“I liked the idea that real estate was tangible,” she said. “I could see the impact I was making. Real estate is really a relationship business. It’s smaller and so it’s very tight-knit.”
An opportunity she found through Pioneer Careers Online, DU’s internal job board, sealed the deal.
Project Destined is a nonprofit that helps educate high school students on real estate, finance and construction management. After going through the flagship private equity and commercial real estate internship, she never looked back.
“The number of opportunities Daniels has afforded me outside of school is incredible,” she said. “I think the real estate school in particular does a great job of connecting you with industry. They really make it easy for you to join professional organizations outside of school for free or for a special rate, so you’re paying a fraction of the price.”
During her college career, Abby McPherson gained experience through things like the Sherman Miller Case Competition, in which she won first place.
Unforgettable college experiences
The professional opportunities McPherson received are the most meaningful experiences of her college career. An alphabet soup of case competitions, conferences, networking opportunities and scholarships—NAIOP, CREW, ULI, ICSC, MIPIM—spelled success.
“Those have been incredibly meaningful because I get to apply the concepts I’m learning in class to the real world,” she said, “and also practice networking and talking to people and creating a strong foundation for once I graduate.”
The cherry on top was a recent nine-day trip to New York City, for the Burns School’s inaugural Walk Down Main Street. Students and faculty paid visits to companies like JP Morgan Chase, Moody’s Corporation and Newmark Group. They stood on the floor for the opening of the New York Stock Exchange.
“It was really cool,” she said. “It felt like you were in ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ or ‘The Big Short.’ There was so much going on. There were buildings being put up. We were talking to some landlords of office buildings in New York.
“Being on the cutting edge of that, I don’t know where else I would want to start my career. I think it reinforced my wanting to be there.”
Building a successful career
New York City is McPherson’s goal. She hopes to land a position in real estate private equity or capital markets, but can’t put her finger on a dream job or career path.
It’s not that unlike the approach she took in high school and college: Keep an open mind, explore, gain a lot of experience and build a diverse resume.
McPherson has learned to be nimble, adaptable and OK with the uncertainty that she is sure to encounter along the way.
And she knows that, if she needs it, the network she has built is ready to help her at every turn.