Rainwater Donates Time and Talent to Help UA Little Rock Students Dress for Success
A group of UA Little Rock students will be dressed for success as they head to St. Louis to defend their title in a national real estate competition, thanks to the generosity of a local Little Rock business owner.
Paul Rainwater, owner of Q Clothier in the Promenade at Chenal, has donated his time and skills to create custom business outfits for a team of UA Little Rock students who will be competing in the Harold E. Eisenberg Foundation’s Annual Real Estate Challenge in April. Trojan Champions, a new initiative of the UA Little Rock Annual Fund, donated the cost of the materials for the business outfits.
“I chose for these students a classic business look, a navy blazer and gray business pants,” Rainwater said. “It’s a timeless, classic look right out of the ‘Dress for Success’ formula. I first got that book in 1976, and there is a whole chapter on the navy blazer. It’s a timeless look that they can use for meetings, interviews, and business activities. If there is anything that has more than one purpose, it’s a blazer. You can also wear it with jeans and khakis. It has a lot of versatility to dress up and down.”
Rainwater is a seasoned veteran in the fashion industry with five decades of invaluable experience under his belt. He opened his first shop in 1974 and is currently celebrating his 50th anniversary of being in the clothing business.
“I’ve always built my business on making friends, and I can’t think of a better investment than college students who are on their way up in the world,” Rainwater said.
The Eisenberg Foundation Challenge matches teams from selected universities in a competition focusing on a high-profile development/redevelopment project. Last year, UA Little Rock’s team won the competition for the first time, and they are competing for a $7,500 scholarship during this year’s competition.
“We as a team were trying to coordinate what we were going to wear so we could look in unison during our presentation, and actually getting a custom suit that makes us all look so sharp is a huge blessing and is just really awesome for us as a team,” said Osman Bagandov, a senior finance major. “With UA Little Rock winning the competition last year, the target is definitely on our backs, but we are embracing the challenge and hoping to deliver a great presentation and hopefully win back-to-back titles.”
Elizabeth Small, director of business networks and instructor of real estate development, will be leading the team of students – Bagandov, Adison Cummings, Ashlin Graveline, and Lamar Townsend – who all have a keen interest in commercial real estate development.
“The school is sending us back in style, and we are just showing the other schools that we have quite a few new tricks up our sleeve,” said Adison Cummings, a senior architectural and civil engineering major. “I definitely see myself wearing this outfit to potential job interviews or any other events where I may need to dress up. It’s a snazzy outfit.”
Ashlin Graveline, a senior finance and real estate major, thinks having the outfit will be beneficial during the competition and after.
“I am so thankful for receiving a custom outfit for the real estate competition,” Graveline said. “The team has worked very hard on this project, and it will be rewarding to see the presentation and ideas come together. The outfit will be very beneficial with the competition and outside of it. It will be great for multiple uses, an example being a job interview.”
