Kaysa Lundberg ’23 Awarded the Daniel B. Woodruff Memorial Scholarship
In June, the Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate awarded the Daniel B. Woodruff Memorial Scholarship for 2023 to Kaysa Lundberg ’23. This award honors exceptional real estate students who exhibit academic excellence and intellectual curiosity. The scholarship is given to students who best epitomize Daniel (Dan) Woodruff’s ’98 positive qualities of academic excellence, warmth, determination, intellectual curiosity and unabashed love for humankind.
“Receiving this prestigious scholarship is an incredible honor and I am looking forward to joining an esteemed group of Woodruff scholars,” says Lundberg. “I am grateful for being recognized for my academic and intellectual achievements as well as my dedication to making a positive impact on the world around me. I would like to thank the Burnham-Moores Center of Real Estate for their support and mentorship throughout my time at USD and onward.”
Lundberg graduated from USD’s Knauss School of Business magna cum laude in Spring 2023. She majored in real estate and marketing. She was actively engaged in various teams and organizations during her time at USD. In her senior year, Lundberg was selected to be a member of the 2023 NAIOP University Challenge undergraduate real estate team. She served as president of the USD Real Estate Society (RES) for the 2022-2023 academic year, where she led the organization providing valuable resources and networking opportunities to the student organization’s members. She also served as vice president of marketing for RES in her junior year. Additionally, Lundberg held leadership positions in her business fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi, and her sorority, Alpha Chi Omega.
She also received departmental honors in both real estate and marketing and is a proud recipient of the Danielle Priore Women in Real Estate Scholarship and the Knauss School of Business Outstanding Leadership & Service award.
“The Burnham-Moores Center of Real Estate has been the catalyst for my personal and professional growth in real estate,” says Lundberg. From internships to scholarships and invaluable career advice, their exceptional faculty, staff and resources have paved the way for my successful journey. I cannot stress enough the significance of getting involved, building strong relationships with the BMC team, and embracing the unique opportunities available through USD's Real Estate program. I attribute my undergraduate success to the BMC and the many doors they have helped to open for me.”
The Woodruff Memorial Scholarship is a highly prestigious scholarship. Students do not apply for this scholarship. Rather, the Real Estate Department faculty and BMC senior leadership determine if there is a student who meets the criteria of becoming a Woodruff Scholar.
“Kaysa was the unanimous choice by the real estate faculty and the Burnham-Moores Center team this year,” says Stath Karras, executive director of the Burnham-Moores Center. “Kaysa is a leader inside and outside of the classroom. She is passionate about learning and about understanding the many facets of the real estate industry. Kaysa is pursuing a joint MBA/MSRE degree and will no doubt be a leader in the real estate community.”
Lundberg was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, where she grew up watching her father become involved in the real estate industry. She has gained valuable industry experience through her internships with Tenant Reps.com as a marketing and brokerage intern and for ShopCore Properties, a Blackstone portfolio company, where she was a retail leasing intern.
Following graduation, Lundberg returned to Seattle and is then traveling to Europe with her family. In August, she will return to San Diego to pursue a joint MBA/MSRE degree at the University of San Diego.
In her free time, Lundberg enjoys running. She completed three half marathons and currently training for her first full marathon (The New York City Marathon), which she plans to participate in come November. Lundberg’s dedication to personal fitness is a testament to her disciplined work ethic and commitment to achieving her goals. In her younger years, Lundberg was an accomplished gymnast.
About the Daniel B. Woodruff Memorial Scholarship
Dan Woodruff served in the U.S. Navy from 1992-96. He earned his undergraduate degree with emphasis in economics and finance from the University of San Diego School of Business. His passion was real estate finance, an outgrowth of his self-directed studies of derivative securities, including mortgage-backed securities. Dan was awarded numerous scholarships and was recognized repeatedly for his academic excellence and leadership at USD. On campus, among other activities, he served as president of the Intercollegiate Business Policy Competition Team, one of the toughest challenges in the School of Business, and as president of the USD Chapter of Toastmasters.
What set Dan apart from his peers, however, was his extraordinary intellectual curiosity and sophistication, his maturity and warm personal style, and his tremendous capacity for friendships, for reaching out to others and for love. Dan was an inspiration to his family and to all who knew him. After graduating from USD, he accepted a position in secondary marketing at one of the nation's largest independent mortgage banking firms. However, within months he was diagnosed with cancer, a battle he fought with incredible determination and spirit for almost two years. While Dan never had a chance to become part of the older generation, he was wise beyond his years.
From a diary Dan maintained throughout his life's journey, he shared the following: "Looking at where I am now, solidifies that we need to live for the 'now,' to take advantage of what we have, not take it for granted. Nothing is granted. It is all a blessing, all we have, all we feel, all we see." Dan was told of the Center's decision to create this scholarship as a permanent memorial to his life about four weeks before he died. He was overwhelmed with emotion and gratitude.