Debran McClean (’93)
Real Estate Professional with TTR Sotheby’s International Realty
Washington, D.C.–Baltimore Area
WFU Class of 1993
Major: Art History
Kaylah Bozkurtian ’22 (DeacLink): What did you study at Wake? What year did you graduate?
Debran McClean (’93): My name is Debran McClean, and I graduated from Wake Forest in 1993. I studied Art History, but I did something sort of unique, in that I also took classes at Salem College in their interior design program; Salem College’s core interior design curriculum made up the “Studio” part of my major, and Wake contributed the Art History piece.
KB: Could you walk me through your path from graduation day to your current job?
DM: The first thing I did after graduation was go on a five-week backpacking trip through Europe. I’d studied visual art in my art history classes and the origin of furniture in my interior design classes, and I got to see all of that in person—it really furthered my education.
After that, I decided to move to D.C., because it was different, and I loved its architecture, city design, and city planning. I wanted to work in commercial design with a commercial architecture firm, in their interior design department, but being in D.C. without a job got frustrating, so I decided to do what I knew, which was furniture; being from North Carolina, there’s plenty of furniture stores, and the furniture industry is a pretty significant presence. So I gave up the other search and got a job with Colony House Furniture so that I could pay for my apartment. I stayed in touch with commercial architecture and design firms, though, so I did end up getting a job as an assistant to the director of design at Hellmuth, Obata, and Kassanbaum (currently HOK).
I took some odd jobs and temp jobs here and there, but I was always interested in interior design. Real estate is what I’m doing now, and that was something I was interested in, too, even in high school, but didn’t think it was ever going to be the profession I entered right out of college. I thought that [real estate] would be a later-in-life second income. But I’ve always loved houses, and I ran into someone who was a little bit older than me that was doing real estate, and I thought, “Wow. You can do that!” My perception was just completely wrong. And because real estate has to do with business and marketing, I’ve been able to use my creative side, too.
KB: How much did your studies and general experience at Wake inform or drive your career path?
DM: Wake Forest provides a liberal arts education, which was very useful in the path that I took because real estate is something of a melting pot of professions. My experience at Wake was that I had to create my own major—I had to find my own way, since I didn’t take a traditional path, and that helped me get into the practice of identifying what I wanted to do and figuring out a way to make it happen.
During my time at Wake, the career office was very small, so other than the Strong Inventory and Myers-Briggs tests, which they offered, and some resume-writing and interviewing tips, I figured most things out on my own. On the Strong Inventory, I scored high on “enterprising”—which makes a lot of sense, because in real estate, you act as your own boss.
KB: How did you find and apply to the various positions you’ve held? Do you have any tips and suggestions for students on networking, interviewing and applying for jobs?
DM: Because I created my own major, I didn’t get much help from career services—not because they weren’t going to be helpful, but because nobody else was doing what I did. I had to be really self-motivated. I had to use my connections, and that’s how I got my different jobs.
With Colony House, my first job, it was a matter of sitting in the lobby at the furniture store with my resume in hand. I basically got off the metro in Rosslyn, walked in the August heat, and sat down in the lobby; I was polite, and I said that I’d like to speak with the president of the company. The woman at the front desk said, “We’re not hiring,” but I said that I’d still like to talk to the president, so I waited in their lobby and picked up one of their beautiful coffee table books to read. I probably stayed there for about an hour before the president finally came out and said, “I’ll talk to you.” I pitched my background in interior design and furniture and said that I’d really like to see what I could do for them. I ended up doing some work for them on projects for the National Symphony Orchestra and Canadian Embassy that year.
My advice is to figure out what your passion is, tap into it, and surround yourself with people in that industry. Lectures, events that you enjoy—you want to attend gatherings related to your interests. You want to show up and be as visible as possible. You want to be listening and learning and networking. Attend the Wake Forest networking events in your area! I sort of found my family in the Wake Forest network. There are so many interesting, intelligent people that went to Wake, and they’re great people to learn from.
Be willing to make mistakes, but try to present your best self, too; being courteous and persistent goes a long way. Follow up with a hand-written note for those people you run into that you have good discussions with.
KB: What is your favorite part of living and working in the D.C. area? What is the most interesting thing going on in the art scene there at the moment, in your opinion?
DM: I honestly thought that I would be in D.C. for five years, get some interior design experience under my belt, and then go back to North Carolina. That ended up not happening because I fell in love with the city. And what I love about it is the inspiration—the beauty of the architecture, the way the city’s planned. There’s something for everyone here.
But the most exciting thing is Wake Forest alumna, Caitlin Berry (’09). She’s just started a position as director of the new contemporary museum, the Rubell. I met [Caitlin] at some Wake The Arts events last spring in April, and we’ve been in touch since then; I saw on Linkedin how she’d been appointed as director, and I am so excited about that. The Rubell Museum is in southwest D.C., so it’s in an exciting, happening area—they actually took an old middle school, built in the early 1900s, and adapted it to use as museum space.
KB: What is your favorite part about working for yourself?
DM: I love it! I have found that I work harder, working for myself. You have to be disciplined; you have to get up and make a plan. It can be challenging at times, but you get out of it what you put into it, and that’s so rewarding to me. The other thing is that there’s always a better way to do things, and I think that’s why I like [working for myself]—if something isn’t working, I can always find a way to do it better. I’m constantly learning.
KB: What and where is next for you?
DM: I’m really committed to what I’m doing right now, in real estate, and I’m also getting more and more houses that need work done to them; the houses for my sellers sometimes need to have some light updates—new light fixtures and painting—and I really love that I’m getting to use my design background. I love making a house look its best, and it’s not something that I charge extra to help with. I love bringing a house to life, or updating a well-lived-in house to make it sellable, and then marketing it to the public. It’s something that I plan to keep doing.
“Home” is something we tend to spend a lot of time in, but even if you don’t spend a lot of time in it, you want it to be a place where you can relax and be at peace. I’m always thrilled when I have a client who’s moving to their new home, and they’re raving about how happy they are, how they love the neighborhood and they love the house. I just love that transformation of a space into a home, and I’m going to keep helping people as much as I possibly can.
KB: A kernel of advice you’d like to impart to the readers?
DM: Don’t be afraid to fail! Always try something; if you fail, learn from it and be persistent. Show up, be visible, and always be grateful.