Anir Dasgupta

When Anir Dasgupta arrived at UMass Lowell as a first-year business student, his LinkedIn profile had zero connections. Now, as he prepares to graduate with a concentration in finance, that number has grown to nearly 3,500 — an indicator of the vast network he has built and the wealth of experiences he has gained along the way.

“I’m super-grateful for every moment at this university,” says Dasgupta, a first-generation college student from Mumbai, India, who moved with his family to Westborough, Massachusetts, when he was in grade school.

Dasgupta is spending his final semester as an undergrad on co-op at The RMR Group, a commercial real estate company based in Newton, Massachusetts. As part of the firm’s energy and sustainability team, he is helping to create the company’s annual environmental, social and governance (ESG) report.

“I’ve never worked in energy sustainability before, so I’m learning a lot,” says Dasgupta, who creates financial models to calculate the payback for investments in energy-efficient equipment such as HVAC units. “The team is full of engineers, and I’m the only finance major — which they see as a positive because I bring a different perspective to the way things have traditionally been done.”

Dasgupta’s interest in real estate was sparked by his grandfather, who grew up in poverty in India but built financial security for his family through property investments.

“I saw how hard work can lead to success if you do it the right way,” he says.

As soon as Dasgupta arrived at the Manning School of Business, he joined the Real Estate Network Association (RENA), a student organization, and was accepted to Project Destined, an internship program that introduces undergraduates from diverse communities to careers in real estate.

“Project Destined was definitely a springboard for me,” says Dasgupta, who became a campus ambassador for the program. He also became president of RENA, participated in the Bloomberg Trading Challenge and, with support from the Manning School dean’s office, traveled to finance conferences in Chicago and Miami.

Dasgupta immersed himself in student life through intramural basketball and clubs like the South Asian Student Association.

“I never really got to explore my culture growing up in Westborough, but at UML, I found a community,” he says.

During the summer before his senior year, Dasgupta fulfilled his dream of working in New York City when he landed an internship with Prologis, the largest real estate investment trust in the world. He secured the opportunity through Commercial Real Estate Success Training (CREST), a nonprofit that places minority students in internships. 

“Now that I’m about to graduate, my goal is to find my way back to New York and get into the entrepreneurial side of commercial real estate. The opportunities there are unmatched,” he says.

But no matter where Dasgupta goes, he wants to give back to UML.

“My dream is to build an alumni network in commercial real estate so we can provide resources to students coming up through the Manning School,” he says. “I want to serve as a River Hawk mentor and spread the opportunities that I’ve been blessed to have.”