By Nicholas Steinhauser
Staff Writer
Life can play out in interesting ways. Many do not know where they will be 20 years from now. They may be doing things that they never imagined were possible. For Jeff Kalafut ‘98, life took him in a direction he never expected.
Kalafut majored in law and justice at the College and was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. He enjoyed his time here, and he met friends who were present for the pivotal points that changed his career. “The people that I have met to this day are still my best friends and basically a second family to me,” said Kalafut.
After graduation, Kalafut had his plans set on law enforcement. He got hired as a police officer by the Mount Olive Township Police Department in Morris County straight out of college at the age of 21.
Kalafut worked in this department for 18 years as a sergeant on the road. However, one late night, Kalafut’s life would change forever.
One night, when getting food for his squad, he saw a car on the side of the highway. There was a young man fighting with his mother in an attempt to run into ongoing traffic and kill himself. Kalafut ran over to the scene, with the young man charging at him, putting Kalafut at risk of being pushed into the road himself. He tackled the young man back, causing him to severely separate his left shoulder and tear a ligament in his right hand. The two continued to struggle for around four minutes as Kalafut attempted to save this young adult from committing suicide.
After the event, Kalafut was sent to the hospital, unaware that this would be his last night suiting up as a cop. Despite having three surgeries and extensive physical therapy, the doctor told him that he could not go back to work. He was only 40 at this time. His hand has since recovered from the injury, but he still can barely lift his shoulder, which is ultimately why he could not return to the force.
Following this devastating news, Kalafut struggled for a year trying to decide what to do for the rest of his life. “I was angry, upset and confused because I went from a very fit and physically active person to somebody who couldn’t even hold himself in a push-up position or hold his kids overhead,” said Kalafut.
He added, “I was depressed, no doubt about it. I did talk to people to help me through it. Ironically, some of the people who helped me the most were my fraternity brothers from college who came to check on me.”
In Kalafut’s mind, he would be a cop for ten more years, work in public administration after that and then happily retire. Instead, his life got flipped upside down in almost every way.
“After this long year of struggle, I had a few people reach out to me asking if I ever thought of becoming a real estate agent, and I laughed at them,” said Kalafut. More people began asking him about becoming a real estate agent, and Kalafut became confused as to why they thought he was a good fit.
Another person asked about real estate a few months later, and Kalafut believed it was a message. After struggling for a year figuring out what to do, he started to do research and enrolled in a real estate class.
Once Kalafut received his real estate license, he began working at a small brokerage called Juba Team Realtor. As a competitive person, he was committed to the real estate business from the day he started. He worked extremely hard by taking classes, reading books, doing research and anything that would improve his skills in the realtor field.
His business began to grow, and Kalafut became more and more successful every year. It got to a point where the brokerage he worked at could not support the business the way he wanted it to. He relocated to a new brokerage called Weichert Realtors in Chester to gain access to more agents and collaborative opportunities with other realtors.
It was at this point that Kalafut decided to get his brokerage license, and he then relocated to eXp Realty, which is the company he works at today. He also collaborated with a business partner of his to create the Pinnacle Partners Group. Kalafut, now in his seventh year of real estate, is a team leader of this group and recently celebrated the opening of the group’s first office.
“In seven years, I went from being a cop to going into sales, then a broker and finally to opening my own office,” stated Kalafut.
When asked about his current career thoughts, Kalafut said, “In my first two years in real estate, I would have given anything to go back to being a police officer, but not anymore. I love this real estate job just as much, if not more, than being a cop, and I never thought I would say that.”
Kalafut said it is quite easy to become a realtor and receive your license, but it is very difficult to do well in the business. Building relationships with people is key to doing well in the business, and realtors need to know what they are doing to relay the correct information to their clients.
“Never give up on yourself, as you have to be your biggest advocate,” said Kalafut. “Also, make sure to lean on the people around you who really care about you. Having a good support system is extremely important, as they are always there for you during the tough times.”
