Ollie Scholarship Applications Due January 28!

The Reginald L. Ollie Scholarship (“The Ollie”) furthers the mission of the BOMA/Chicago Foundation: to advance the development of emerging talent in commercial real estate (CRE), inclusive of underrepresented groups, through education, exposure, and outreach.

The Ollie aims to support at least one RPA candidate each year. The Scholarship is awarded to applicants who have overcome personal or professional challenges, are committed to growing within the commercial real estate industry, are likely to attain their RPA, and are likely to become leaders in the industry.

APPLICATION

Please review the eligibility criteria (listed below) for this scholarship. If you meet these criteria, we invite you to apply! Click here to download the packet containing the application and reference forms (note: forms must be submitted online using the links in the packet). All parts of the application are due on January 28.

BENEFITS

Tuition waiver: provides full tuition (valued at $10,000) to complete BOMI courses that fulfill the education requirement to achieve the RPA designation. Fees include: enrollment, classes, textbooks, and exams.

Mentorship: Each recipient will be paired with a mentor for class, exam, and career advice/assistance.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA 

• Applicants must have 24 months of commercial real estate experience by March 2025. The experience must specifically be in a commercial real estate property management role (residential and retail experience does not count toward the 24 months). *Internships may be eligible to count toward the 24 months of experience. Please see the note below.
• Applicants must be at least 21 years old.
• Applicants do NOT have to be a BOMA/Chicago member.
• Applicants must have taken three or fewer RPA designation classes before applying for the scholarship.
• Applicants must have completed at least one year of college-level courses at a college/university and earned a GPA of 2.5/4.0 or 3.5/5.
• Applicants must be able to describe personal and/or professional challenges to entering or growing within the commercial real estate industry.
• Submission of three references.
• Applicants must submit a complete Scholarship Application form, with its requested attachments, by January 28, 2026
• Attend all classes unless advance permission for an absence is granted by BOMA/Chicago staff. Attend at least 80% of all classes in person and actively participate in discussions and activities. 

*Internship Experience Requirements
If you have completed a commercial real estate internship, you may apply to have the time spent in the internship count towards the required 24 months of experience. The internship experience must be focused on commercial real estate property management (residential and retail experience does not count). Along with your application, please include one document that describes:

1. Timeframe: Indicate the dates of your internship(s).
2. Number of Hours: Indicate the number of hours for each internship and whether each internship was full-time or part-time.
3. Responsibilities: Describe your internship responsibilities and the skills you acquired.

The Foundation's Scholarship Committee or other appropriate body will determine whether an internship may count toward the required experience by comparing its length, contiguousness, recentness, and scope of work to typical full-time work experience. Applicants may be required to submit additional material to aid in this evaluation.

If you plan to apply for this scholarship, please email Jaclynne Madden or call (312) 870-9608 to discuss the application process and requirements.