Renee Fisher Is Making Her Own Path
Renee Fisher didn’t plan to work in property management; in fact, she originally had her sights set on pre-med until she found herself on a new and unexpected career track. After getting started in conventional housing and corporate real estate, Renee took a position as General Manager of ROAM Student Living in Missoula, Montana — and in her words, “the rest is history.” Whether leveraging her multitasking skills to take care of day-to-day responsibilities or working alongside her team to provide the best experience possible, Renee is ready to tackle whatever adventure comes her way. Read on to learn more about her professional background, a moment that she’s most proud of, as well as her current guilty pleasure video game.
Tell us a little bit about your professional background.
I have a degree in cell biology and neuroscience and a minor in psychology. I was planning to go into pre-med, which I think that’s pretty much the only thing I use nowadays from my degree! I worked for a startup company doing basically nano film research and writing grants for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to try and get funding for our projects. However, when the company sold their technology, I found myself laid off and randomly got a job in property management. And the rest is history.
I began my journey in conventional housing and then transferred over into commercial. Campus Advantage is the first student housing group that I’ve ever worked for, and it’s a totally different ballgame. It’s crazy to me that they don’t really pitch property management in college, so I’m glad I was able to find my path in this industry.
What first attracted you to work for Campus Advantage?
It’s a nationally based company, which is fantastic. There’s not very many opportunities in my state’s market for property management, so it was really nice to have such a large company to be able to work for in Missoula.
Tell us a little bit about your current role.
I’ve been at ROAM Student Living since July 2022, so about two years now. I’m the General Manager, which means I look over everything that happens on site here in the leasing office and across the property itself. On a day-to-day basis, I handle accounting, financials, leasing, and taking care of resident concerns if they pop up. Whatever gets thrown our way, we tackle head-on together.
What does a typical day look like for you and your team?
We do a lot of sales on the front end, and especially right now — that is our major focus. Customer service is also a priority for us. We want to make sure we provide the best experience for all of our residents that have chosen to live here, so we can maintain retention rates, which I’m proud to say we have had a very successful resident retention. I think we’re sitting at about a 50% retention rate for renewals this year, and we did the same last year, so that speaks volumes right there.
What three words best describe you (inside or outside of work)
Multitasking — I’m constantly doing multiple things at once.
Eclectic — Because of my multitasking, I tend to be all over the place!
Adventurous — I love the outdoors, especially activities like paddleboarding and camping.
How would you describe the Campus Advantage culture?
Trusting — They put a lot of trust in all of their on-site teams and give them a lot of autonomy to run the business how they see fit. I think it’s fantastic they don’t micromanage you, but if you need help, they’re there to help you.
Understanding — When team members are going through a tough time, CA is supportive instead of making them feel bad.
Supportive — They always have their employees’ backs, whether it’s business related or personal.
What is one of your favorite moments with Campus Advantage so far?
This isn’t so much a favorite memory as it is something I’m really proud of. When I first started at this property, turn started a week and a half after I became Property Manager. On top of that, my assistant manager was new to property management at the time, too. Somehow, between our team, we made it through that turn; it was terrible, but I’m really proud of us and how it turned out. I’m proud we met our deadlines in the midst of chaos.
Which of Campus Advantage’s core values represents you best?
For me, it’s a toss up between integrity and intelligence. I like intelligence just because I’m really fine-tuned with all of the financials that happen within the property. I love digging into that kind of stuff and really paying attention to minor details that could easily be missed. And then when it comes to our residents, we always want to treat people fairly and do the best we can to accommodate them — but we have to do that with integrity. You can’t break rules and let certain people do things that other people weren’t allowed to do.
What motivates you to come to work every day?
I would say my team. I definitely want to be here for my team and make sure everything goes smoothly so they have an easier time throughout the week. They really do make it a very enjoyable work environment.
Thinking about your most successful peers and teammates, what characteristics do they share?
They all share the skill of organization. There’s a lot of mass chaos that happens with this job, so it’s important to stay as organized as you can. You’re pulled in a million different directions, so if you don’t have that skill, you’re not going to be able to complete any of those tasks as efficiently as possible.
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
I love camping, water skiing, pretty much any water sport like paddleboarding, too. Most recently, my guilty pleasure is playing Overcooked 2 on Xbox — it’s this super fun cooking game where you’re trying to make orders and cook in these crazy kitchens. I would recommend watching a YouTube playthrough of it to better understand the game, but I absolutely love playing it when I’m not at work.
If your life had a soundtrack, what song would be on it?
I’d like to say “Tainted Love,” but in reality, it’s probably “Every Day Is Exactly the Same” by Nine Inch Nails!