For 10 students and three faculty members from the College of Charleston’s Carter Real Estate Center, what happens in Vegas might not stay in Vegas.

RECon is the International Council of Shopping Centers’ annual convention.

RECon is the International Council of Shopping Centers’ annual convention.

The group is headed to ReCon, the International Council of Shopping Centers’ (ICSC) annual convention for the shopping center industry that draws tens of thousands of professionals and vendors from around the world. The convention takes place May 18-20, 2014, in Las Vegas.

In the world of retail real estate, it doesn’t get much bigger than RECon, said Elaine Worzala, director of the Carter Real Estate Center.

RELATED: Learn more about the Carter Real Estate Program.

Elaine Worzala

Elaine Worzala

“The conference itself is the who’s who of the retail world. We will be attending the main sessions, but we are also being invited to private functions that are being organized by our alumni and friends,” Worzala said. “We will have a table at the event, and the students will ‘work the booth’ just like they would at a real trade show.”

The trip is being funded through the generosity of business school alumni Mark Miller and Chris Price as well as a family member of a student in the real estate program.

Students will be exposed to all aspects of retail real estate and have the opportunity to network with professionals in retail development, leasing, lending and other areas.

The conference also is an incredible opportunity to promote the College, the School of Business, the real estate program and its students, Worzala said.

ICSC provides opportunities for business students to gain valuable professional development experience through memberships, internships and industry publications. Worzala and two of the program’s students, Temma Weissman and Elizabeth Berry, were recently published in ICSC’s flagship research publication Retail Property Insights.