Blackwell: Bell reminded me every line item in a pro forma connects to a real community

The Wood Center amplifies the voices of students taking part in real estate-focused summer experiences in a student-produced series called Internship Reflections. Hear first-hand about the amazing professional development, project sites, and real world real estate opportunities these students are being exposed to.

By Ali Blackwell

The 2026 Bell Partners intern class gathers with Learning & Development managers during onboarding in the Raleigh, NC office in June.

This summer, I had the opportunity to complete a nine week internship with Bell Partners Inc. on the Investments team in their Washington, D.C. office. Bell is a privately held, vertically integrated apartment investment and management firm with approximately 70,000 apartment homes across the United States. As one of two Investments interns, I was given exposure to nearly every stage of Bell’s acquisition process and the opportunity to contribute to live deals across several markets.

Much of my summer was spent underwriting potential multifamily acquisitions. I analyzed rent rolls, historical operating statements, capital expenditures, and market data to evaluate potential investment opportunities. After a few weeks of practice, I learned that underwriting is about much more than building a financial model. The numbers provide an important starting point, but they rarely tell the entire story. Every assumption requires you to ask questions, understand what is driving a property’s performance, and determine whether those trends are likely to continue. Learning to connect the quantitative analysis with the broader story of an investment was one of the most valuable skills I developed this summer.

Kenan-Flagler’s Real Estate Area of Emphasis gave me a strong foundation through Introduction to Real Estate, Real Estate Finance, and Real Estate Development. At Bell, I was able to see how those concepts are applied when evaluating live deals and making decisions about where capital should be deployed. Even as an intern, the team trusted me with real responsibilities and consistently included me in meetings and conversations that helped bring those concepts to reality. I am excited to build on this experience throughout my senior year in both my Real Estate and Capital Markets course this fall and the Real Estate Capstone in the spring.

One of my favorite parts of the summer was getting outside the office and seeing the physical properties behind the excel sheets. I toured Bell owned communities, spoke with onsite teams, participated in a capital walk with our asset managers, and took part in the due diligence process at a property Bell was preparing to close on. These experiences gave me a much better understanding of how property condition, capital needs, resident experience, and daily operations can influence an investment’s performance. It also helped remind me that every line item in a pro forma ultimately connects back to a real community and the people who live and work there.

Near the end of the summer, I completed two final projects: one with the other Investments intern and another involving all ten interns. For the first project, I evaluated two live deals within a portfolio in Texas and followed each opportunity through the investment process, from underwriting and qualitative market analysis to developing our recommendations and presenting our findings and conviction to the entire Investments team. The second project was the Innovation Showdown, where we were challenged to identify a process within Bell that could be improved or introduced. After presenting to our managers in the first round, I was selected to advance to the second round and present to Bell’s Executive Committee. Both projects brought together everything I had learned throughout the summer and made me much more confident presenting my work in front of senior leadership.

Most importantly, this summer solidified my desire to pursue a career in commercial real estate after graduation. I loved coming into the office knowing I would be challenged and learn something new each day. I also learned how much the people and culture of a company shape an internship experience. Everyone at Bell consistently included me in important work, answered my many questions, and genuinely wanted to help me grow both as an individual and as a young professional. I am incredibly grateful to the entire Bell team for making this summer more valuable than I ever could have imagined.