Justin Felix is Leaving His Mark

After 10 years in the student housing industry, Justin has done it all, from leasing agent to property manager and everything in between. And if there’s one thing that experience has taught Justin, it’s that he knows exactly what he wants to be doing – leasing and marketing. As a traveling leasing specialist, Justin is always ready to jump in and help teams find their groove while also staying flexible to get the job done no matter what is thrown his way. Read on to learn more about Justin’s passion for traveling and leading teams to success.

Tell us a little bit about your current role and how long you’ve been with the company.

I am currently a traveling leasing specialist and have been with Campus Advantage for about a year and half now – it’s been a whirlwind of emotions with this position! I like getting to travel and meet different teams in different markets. I’m just very excited that I have the opportunity to be a road warrior and assisting the teams that need a little extra help and pour into the leasing managers; that gives me so much joy in my day to day.

What first attracted you to work for Campus Advantage?

After working in different roles on the operational side of student housing I realized how much I prefer the face-to-face interaction and being on the front lines, so to speak. I was living in Texas as a property manager and came across the opening on the Campus Advantage website – the way the role combined traveling and leasing, two of my passions, just seemed like a perfect fit.

What is your professional background?

I started off in student housing as a leasing agent in Tallahassee in 2014. The student discount never hurts when you’re in college, but I ended up falling in love with helping people. It was the perfect job for me for those first couple of years but then I wanted to see what the operations side of things looked like. I went over to being an assistant manager when I moved to Atlanta to get my master’s and that’s where I only really focused on rental collections, delinquencies, more of the behind-the-scenes operations. I ended up getting a call from one of my regionals who had a property in Austin, which is why I made the big move to Texas. She wanted me to oversee one of her assets there and I enjoyed it. I think that every position I’ve had up until that point prepared me for my current position. Operations wasn’t really my thing, but I did want to give it a shot and it made me realize that leasing and marketing are so much more my niche and my passion.

What does a typical day look like in your role?

My schedule can have some regularity, but there’s really no such thing as a typical day in this role. We normally do rotations of 10 days in market and then 4 days off and back home. Monday morning, I’m up at 4:00 or 5:00 AM getting through the chaos that can be TSA and airport security, trying to make it to the market I’m visiting by midday. Then, once I’m in market that first day is mostly just feeling out the property and seeing what’s going on firsthand. I use that day to create a game plan for the rest of my time there and jump right in. I always want to make sure that I’m making a meaningful impact when I’m visiting one of our communities and that means I must get going immediately; I don’t have time to waste a few days coming up with an approach. The clock is ticking! Some days go just as planned and we can get through a lot, but you never know – we may need to help give tours or answer phones or we may need to help conduct interviews and onboard new employees. No matter what those 10 days end up looking like, it’s always super rewarding at the end to send a recap back of everything we were able to accomplish.

What three words best describe you (inside or outside of work)?

Funny, hardworking, and passionate.

How would you describe the Campus Advantage culture?

With the CA culture I think it’s definitely a family-oriented environment. Even before this position, the recruiting and offer process was very friendly and everyone was helpful, enlightening and transparent. A lot of companies are not like that and leave you wondering what happens next, but with Campus Advantage from the first contact I felt at home. The culture is very warm and welcoming, and no one cares where you came from or how you look – as long as you are being yourself everyone is accepting or at least trying to be. As an African American gay male, I’ve experienced being discriminated against, whether it was knowingly or not. The DEI programs and all the calls to educate employees are refreshing. Campus Advantage takes those opportunities to help all employees learn and I always feel welcome, safe, and heard. There are some companies where you’re just a number or a name, but CA has made me feel more than that and I will forever be indebted to this company.

What is one of your favorite moments with Campus Advantage so far?

My favorite moment with Campus Advantage so far was our Momentum Conference earlier this year in January where we took a cruise. It was my first work conference being with a company and I’m a leader – it really gave me the opportunity to show that leadership side. I was able to present in front of all of our leasing managers and host workshops with them. I was able to take my own experience and pour that back into the attendees to help them in a role I used to sit in myself. Ten years ago, when I started my leasing journey you never could have told me that I would be where I am today, so having that experience on the cruise to be able to be in a leadership role and be respected was a highlight of my career. And then the feedback afterward was very rewarding and humbling; I’m very appreciative that I was able to get up there and speak, give advice, and teach on something I’m passionate about. I’m looking forward to going again in January!

Thinking about your most successful peers and teammates, what characteristics do they share?

I may be biased but the leasing departments is IT! A lot of us are all so passionate about what we do, and we don’t play when it comes to leasing and marketing of our properties – we’re always putting our best foot forward. Everyone in the department is willing to jump in and roll up their sleeves, there is no task that they are too good to take on themselves and I think that’s the true definition of teamwork. Everyone is still working like it’s their first day and that’s why I’ve been with this team for so long. I’ve never worked with a team like this before.

What do you like to do when you’re not working?

Since I travel so much for work and only have four days after each rotation, I do like to spend some of that time catching up on sleep. I love to travel and try new restaurants – I’m a big foodie, but I also use that time back home to binge watch Netflix or catch up on my TV shows. I also really like to travel outside the US when I get a chance!

If your life had a soundtrack, name some songs that would be on it?

I Was Here by Beyoncé

I feel as though this song embodies the drive of working toward something and leaving your mark on the world. Whether it’s professionally, in relationships, or anything, we only have a short time here and I want to be remembered for the remarkable work I’ve done.