UGOC SPOTLIGHT: United Group Celebrates March Work Anniversaries

Today, we are thrilled to shine the spotlight on a very special member of our team who is celebrating her milestone fifth year anniversary with United Group, College Suites Hudson Valley Property Manager Erin Englehart! 

Anyone who has had the pleasure of working alongside Erin knows that she always has a smile on her face! Her positive attitude, dedication to her job and fun, creative approach to her day to day duties have made her, not only a favorite among students living at her property, but a fantastic coworker and friend to her United Group family as well.  

When Erin joined us in 2016, as an Assistant Property Manager at Schaffer Heights, it was clear we had found someone special. She quickly established herself as an indispensable member of our team, and shortly after moving to student housing, earned a well deserved promotion to Property Manager! The rest, they say, is history, and we are so grateful to have Erin's tenacious work ethic, strong leadership and great personality running the show at College Suites Hudson Valley!

Please join us in offering our heartfelt congratulations to Erin on reaching this exciting work anniversary! We're looking forward to many more years with her on the team. 

Scroll down below to learn more about Erin and her amazing five years with United Group! 

Erin Englehart

Property Manager, College Suites Hudson Valley

1.) What do you remember about your first day with UGOC?  

I remember being extremely nervous my first day. I had worked with my previous company for eleven years and was so scared yet excited to meet new people. I just remember meeting so many different departments of united group and loved hearing about each department’s role within the company. 

2.) Are you in the same role? What has changed about your role?
I am not in the same role as I was when I started.  When I first joined united group I was the Assistant property manager at Schaffer Heights. Since then I moved to student housing, became the APM at the College Suites at Hudson Valley and at the end of 2019 was promoted to Property Manager.

3.) Tell us what an average day at the office looks like?

Where do I begin…Well, when I’m not practicing my Jedi Mind tricks, I start everyday with making a daily to do list to keep me on track. I follow that with a staff daily to do email. I find this helps to keep our team on track and organized.  I follow up on any emails I received over the evening and then move on to following up with the dashboard in Entrata. From there the day is filled with back office tasks, phone calls and emails to leads along with brainstorming and executing social media content.  We also usually have a resident event planned or some kind of outreach appointment we have to attend. As most property managers know there will always be unexpected items that pop up throughout the day. It’s just about balancing what you have planned with what may surprise you.

4.) Tell us one of your favorite early memories from your office?

One of my favorite memories I have is when I was working at Schaffer Heights with Mike Malpass. Mike had an assortment of V neck sweaters he would wear in the office. One day I walked into his office to file something and looked at him and thought to myself “Oh look Mike has stepped outside his comfort zone and has decided to try a crew neck instead of a v neck!” The filing cabinet I needed to get to happened to be behind his desk so after filing a turned to see mike sitting at his desk his back facing me, when I realized that he was not wearing a new sweater at all and it wasn’t a crew neck, It was indeed still his normal V neck, he just didn’t realize he was wearing it backwards. I will be honest, for a brief moment I debated telling him, but I couldn’t help but to laugh. It was at this moment I realized there would never be a dull moment working at UGOC.

5.) What do you love most about United Group?

I know it’s cliché but what I love most is a sense of family.  I grew up as an only child and always wanted siblings and to be part of a big family.  I still remember when MD interviewed me he asked me what was one of the reasons I chose to apply to work for United. I told him I’m a people person and want to be part of a company that helps one another to succeed and the name of the company says it all “United”. I was raised to always help out when someone is in need, you may have your needs taken care of and may be on a great path but there is always someone struggling that may need an extra hand. I feel like the company as a whole is always willing to help out one another, even if their department doesn’t play a role in the task at hand.  I know from experience I can reach out and ask for help or even advice. As for my site team, I can’t speak enough kind words about them. From my regional manager, to my APM and Resident Coordinator, to my maintenance team. I am beyond blessed to work with such hardworking, dedicated and optimistic people.  I personally couldn’t ask for a better team or group of individuals to work with. 

6.) What advice do you want to give yourself now, after working for the United Group for the past 5 years?    

The best advice I could give myself is to stop doubting yourself. I look back at times when I was debating on going out for another role within the company and decided to back out because I was my own worst enemy. I thought to myself” Don’t do it, you’re happy where you are and comfortable.” I realized that no one will ever succeed if they stay in their comfort zone. I use to be so nervous (and sometimes I still am) But I have to remind myself that I will succeed even if it takes longer or more effort  than expected Nelsen Mandela once said:  “It always seems impossible until it is done” and it is something I live by to this day.