{"id":88370,"date":"2018-05-12T16:56:50","date_gmt":"2018-05-12T20:56:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/?p=88370"},"modified":"2019-05-08T15:39:22","modified_gmt":"2019-05-08T19:39:22","slug":"forbes-recognized-alums-urge-graduates-to-seize-opportunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2018\/05\/12\/forbes-recognized-alums-urge-graduates-to-seize-opportunity\/","title":{"rendered":"Forbes-Recognized Alums Urge Graduates to Seize Opportunity"},"content":{"rendered":"<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><p>Now is the time to take risks, a pair of UMW-made entrepreneurs who landed on last year&rsquo;s prestigious Forbes &ldquo;30 Under 30&rdquo; list told 1,000 undergraduate candidates who gathered beneath a hot sun on Ball Circle Saturday morning.<\/p><p>Robert Davis &rsquo;12 and Abbas Haider &rsquo;12 delivered the 2018 commencement address at the University of Mary Washington, where an international marketing class launched their careers as successful young business leaders.<\/p><p>What started as a class project eventually turned into a company called Aspetto, which today sells bulletproof suits and professional attire, plus other high-end men&rsquo;s clothing. The lifesaving apparel line has generated millions of dollars in revenue and serves the U.S. armed forces, government contractors, NFL players, reality TV stars and other highprofile clients. It has also been recognized by such publications as Esquire and Newsweek.<\/p><p>But none of it happened by accident, the pair told graduates in a speech meant to both humor and inspire.<\/p><p><!--more--><\/p><div class=\"tiled-gallery type-rectangular tiled-gallery-unresized\" data-original-width=\"1100\" data-carousel-extra='{\"blog_id\":7,\"permalink\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/12\\\/forbes-recognized-alums-urge-graduates-to-seize-opportunity\\\/\",\"likes_blog_id\":230672515}' itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageGallery\"> <div class=\"gallery-row\" style=\"width: 1100px; height: 485px;\" data-original-width=\"1100\" data-original-height=\"485\"> <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 764px; height: 485px;\" data-original-width=\"764\" data-original-height=\"485\"> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2018\/05\/12\/forbes-recognized-alums-urge-graduates-to-seize-opportunity\/robert-davis-abbas-haider-3\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"760\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"481\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"88387\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Robert-Davis-Abbas-Haider-3.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"3000,1899\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta='{\"aperture\":\"4\",\"credit\":\"\",\"camera\":\"X-T2\",\"caption\":\"\",\"created_timestamp\":\"1526115591\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"16\",\"iso\":\"400\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0.004\",\"title\":\"\",\"orientation\":\"1\"}' data-image-title=\"Robert Davis Abbas Haider 3\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Davis, left, and Haider share a light moment with faculty before the procession.&lt;\/p&gt; \" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Robert-Davis-Abbas-Haider-3-300x190.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Robert-Davis-Abbas-Haider-3-1024x648.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Robert-Davis-Abbas-Haider-3.jpg?w=760&amp;h=481&amp;ssl=1\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Robert-Davis-Abbas-Haider-3.jpg 3000w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Robert-Davis-Abbas-Haider-3-300x190.jpg 300w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Robert-Davis-Abbas-Haider-3-768x486.jpg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Robert-Davis-Abbas-Haider-3-1024x648.jpg 1024w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Robert-Davis-Abbas-Haider-3-1140x722.jpg 1140w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Robert-Davis-Abbas-Haider-3-600x380.jpg 600w\" width=\"760\" height=\"481\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"760\" data-original-height=\"481\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"Robert Davis Abbas Haider 3\" alt=\"Davis, left, and Haider share a light moment with faculty before the procession.\" style=\"width: 760px; height: 481px;\"> <\/a> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\" itemprop=\"caption description\"> Davis, left, and Haider share a light moment with faculty before the procession. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <div class=\"gallery-group images-2\" style=\"width: 336px; height: 485px;\" data-original-width=\"336\" data-original-height=\"485\"> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2018\/05\/12\/forbes-recognized-alums-urge-graduates-to-seize-opportunity\/robert-davis-abbas-haider-1\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"332\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"250\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"88388\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Robert-Davis-Abbas-Haider-1.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"3000,2258\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta='{\"aperture\":\"5\",\"credit\":\"\",\"camera\":\"X-T2\",\"caption\":\"\",\"created_timestamp\":\"1526118518\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"132.3\",\"iso\":\"400\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0.001\",\"title\":\"\",\"orientation\":\"1\"}' data-image-title=\"Robert Davis Abbas Haider 1\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Robert-Davis-Abbas-Haider-1-300x226.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Robert-Davis-Abbas-Haider-1-1024x771.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Robert-Davis-Abbas-Haider-1.jpg?w=332&amp;h=250&amp;ssl=1\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Robert-Davis-Abbas-Haider-1.jpg 3000w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Robert-Davis-Abbas-Haider-1-300x226.jpg 300w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Robert-Davis-Abbas-Haider-1-768x578.jpg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Robert-Davis-Abbas-Haider-1-1024x771.jpg 1024w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Robert-Davis-Abbas-Haider-1-1140x858.jpg 1140w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Robert-Davis-Abbas-Haider-1-600x452.jpg 600w\" width=\"332\" height=\"250\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"332\" data-original-height=\"250\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"Robert Davis Abbas Haider 1\" alt=\"Robert Davis, left, and Abbas Haider urged graduates to take risks.\" style=\"width: 332px; height: 250px;\"> <\/a> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\" itemprop=\"caption description\"> Robert Davis, left, and Abbas Haider urged graduates to take risks. <\/div> <\/div> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2018\/05\/12\/forbes-recognized-alums-urge-graduates-to-seize-opportunity\/paino-congratulates-grad-2\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"332\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"227\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"88389\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Paino-congratulates-grad.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"3000,2058\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta='{\"aperture\":\"9\",\"credit\":\"\",\"camera\":\"X-T2\",\"caption\":\"\",\"created_timestamp\":\"1526120855\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"132.3\",\"iso\":\"400\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0.00125\",\"title\":\"\",\"orientation\":\"1\"}' data-image-title=\"Paino congratulates grad\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Paino-congratulates-grad-300x206.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Paino-congratulates-grad-1024x702.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Paino-congratulates-grad.jpg?w=332&amp;h=227&amp;ssl=1\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Paino-congratulates-grad.jpg 3000w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Paino-congratulates-grad-300x206.jpg 300w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Paino-congratulates-grad-768x527.jpg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Paino-congratulates-grad-1024x702.jpg 1024w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Paino-congratulates-grad-1140x782.jpg 1140w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Paino-congratulates-grad-600x412.jpg 600w\" width=\"332\" height=\"227\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"332\" data-original-height=\"227\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"Paino congratulates grad\" alt=\"President Paino offers congratulations\" style=\"width: 332px; height: 227px;\"> <\/a> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\" itemprop=\"caption description\"> President Paino offers congratulations <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <\/div> <!-- close row --> <div class=\"gallery-row\" style=\"width: 1100px; height: 662px;\" data-original-width=\"1100\" data-original-height=\"662\"> <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 1100px; height: 662px;\" data-original-width=\"1100\" data-original-height=\"662\"> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2018\/05\/12\/forbes-recognized-alums-urge-graduates-to-seize-opportunity\/happy-grad-alma-mater\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"1096\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"658\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"88390\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Happy-grad-alma-mater.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"3000,1802\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta='{\"aperture\":\"5.6\",\"credit\":\"\",\"camera\":\"X-T2\",\"caption\":\"\",\"created_timestamp\":\"1526124815\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"16\",\"iso\":\"400\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0.001\",\"title\":\"\",\"orientation\":\"1\"}' data-image-title=\"Happy grad alma mater\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Happy-grad-alma-mater-300x180.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Happy-grad-alma-mater-1024x615.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Happy-grad-alma-mater.jpg?w=1096&amp;h=658&amp;ssl=1\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Happy-grad-alma-mater.jpg 3000w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Happy-grad-alma-mater-300x180.jpg 300w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Happy-grad-alma-mater-768x461.jpg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Happy-grad-alma-mater-1024x615.jpg 1024w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Happy-grad-alma-mater-1140x685.jpg 1140w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/05\/Happy-grad-alma-mater-600x360.jpg 600w\" width=\"1096\" height=\"658\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"1096\" data-original-height=\"658\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"Happy grad alma mater\" alt=\"Graduates sing the alma mater. Photos by Norm Shafer.\" style=\"width: 1096px; height: 658px;\"> <\/a> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\" itemprop=\"caption description\"> Graduates sing the alma mater. Photos by Norm Shafer. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <\/div> <!-- close row --> <\/div><p>Haider, who once drove to New York City to sell out of the back of his car, nixed plans to go to law school to pursue his passion.<\/p><p>&ldquo;I am sure things weren&rsquo;t as dramatic at Rob&rsquo;s house, but if you can imagine the extreme reaction from brown parents when their kid tells them that he decided not to go to law school &ndash; after they had already submitted the deposit,&rdquo; Haider joked.<\/p><p>&ldquo;That was probably the biggest risk we took to this day. We immediately went from a comfortable Ramen Noodle budget to a &lsquo;lifestyle&rsquo; of making $500 a month working six days a week. For those of you trying to calculate our hourly rate, yes, it was well below minimum wage,&rdquo; Davis said.<\/p><p>But there was no better time to take a risk. &ldquo;Take advantage of this opportunity and do the things you love and are passionate about because the steps you take today will shape your future tomorrow,&rdquo; Davis continued.<\/p><p>UMW on Saturday awarded 432 Bachelor of Arts degrees, 480 Bachelor of Science degrees, 56 Bachelor of Liberal Studies degrees, 32 Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees.<\/p><p>To them, the entrepreneurs had this to say: Inexperience is not a crutch but rather an opportunity to seize.<\/p><p>&ldquo;The business tested us, both mentally and financially. Our freshly printed degrees did not<\/p><p>guarantee our success,&rdquo; Haider said.<\/p><p>But through hard work and risk-taking, they ultimately found it. Now, the pair told graduates, it was their turn.<\/p><p>&ldquo;As long as you keep taking steps forward,&rdquo; Haider said, &ldquo;you will always be ahead of where you started.&rdquo;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Now is the time to take risks, a pair of UMW-made entrepreneurs who landed on last year&rsquo;s prestigious Forbes &ldquo;30 Under 30&rdquo; list told 1,000 undergraduate candidates who gathered beneath a hot sun on Ball Circle Saturday morning.Robert Davis &rsquo;12 and Abbas Haider &rsquo;12 delivered the 2018 commencement address at the University of Mary Washington, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":831,"featured_media":88385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[704],"tags":[],"topics":[5144],"class_list":{"0":"post-88370","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-stories","8":"topic-news","9":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ 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