{"id":216123,"date":"2025-08-28T15:58:01","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T19:58:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/?p=216123"},"modified":"2025-08-28T16:07:56","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T20:07:56","slug":"homecoming-at-montclair-carries-special-meaning-for-nakia-swinton-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/2025\/08\/28\/homecoming-at-montclair-carries-special-meaning-for-nakia-swinton-16\/","title":{"rendered":"Nakia Swinton \u201916"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nakia (Kia) Swinton \u201916 didn\u2019t plan on launching a Montclair legacy. \u201cLike many high schoolers, I didn\u2019t know what I wanted to do next,\u201d she says. \u201cI thought I wanted to go to a college far from New Jersey, where I grew up, but I didn\u2019t even know what I wanted to study.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was her father, Stephen Swinton \u201987, who suggested broadcast journalism. \u201cI remember the conversation like it was yesterday,\u201d Kia recalls. \u201cWe were in the car, driving down Route 57. I didn\u2019t even know that was something you could go to school for.\u201d She started completing online surveys to match her interests to programs and schools. Montclair consistently landed at the top of the list.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was determined to chart my own course, but I started to feel like these search results were a sign,\u201d she says. \u201cMy mom wanted me to stay in New Jersey and we needed to be mindful of costs, so Montclair made a lot of sense overall.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Dad, of course, was thrilled by Kia\u2019s choice. Stephen Swinton was a member of the Red Hawk basketball team, as well as part of the first class to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Montclair. He stayed involved as an alumnus, contributing design services to the University and Montclair community through the work of his company, Swinton Studio. This year, he was recognized in the 35th Annual Montclair African American Heritage Parade for his visionary work that shaped the organization\u2019s branding and promotional materials from its inception.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe would bring me and my sister to campus during Homecoming and other events and my mom and grandma would take us to plays at the University,\u201d Kia says. \u201cDad also stayed in touch with his teammates, who came by the house for barbecues and such. I was very familiar with Montclair before I became a student.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once enrolled in the Communication and Media Studies program at Montclair, Kia began charting her own unique path. \u201cI loved learning about communication theories, and the class in live television directing was so much fun \u2013 even though I had to overcome my reluctance to explore the technical side of the field,\u201d she says. \u201cThrough the classes and assignments, I was able to determine what I did, and didn\u2019t, want to do after college.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kia also worked as a student assistant for the Machuga Heights residences and provided administrative support to the staff of the Office of Global Engagement. \u201cI really enjoyed showing the international students all the wonderful things to do and see at Montclair and in the New York metropolitan area,\u201d she says, noting that she also studied abroad, in Spain.<\/p>\n

Kia\u2019s journey was enhanced by completing a minor in Business, by joining the Alliance for Women in Media, and becoming part of the team at WMSC 90.3 FM. \u201cI learned about the station during my first week on campus,\u201d she says. \u201cI have always loved radio and wanted to get involved, and then I learned that I could have my own show! This was very exciting for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kia\u2019s show, \u201cOvernight Delight,\u201d ran from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. \u201cI learned everything about radio, from scheduling artist interviews to making public service announcements,\u201d she says. \u201cMy show focused on hip hop and R&B artists, which was different from the other WMSC programs at the time. I had a great time meeting a lot of local artists while perfecting my skills. My work at the station helped me secure internships as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

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While still a student, Kia completed internships at BET, NBCUniversal, VH1 and Press Here Publicity. After graduation she joined VICE Media as a communications assistant, and later as a talent assistant at Warner Bros. Discovery. She created, co-hosted and produced the Sufficiently Black podcast, in addition to a series of freelance directing and producing projects.<\/p>\n

In 2021, Kia joined iHeartMedia as a supervising producer for the company\u2019s Ruby division, which focuses on branded content for corporate clients. To date, her podcast work has received numerous recognitions across the industry. As supervising producer for season 1 of the \u201cOfficial Game of Thrones Podcast: House of Dragon,\u201d she received three Signal Awards and was a Shorty Award Finalist\/Gold Honor recipient. There have been numerous nominations too, from the Webby Awards and The Podcast Academy\u2019s Ambies\u00ae award program.<\/p>\n

Montclair has never been far from view. Kia remains in touch with a few of her former professors, and she recently joined the University\u2019s Black Alumni Advisory Council, formed in 2021 to bring together Montclair graduates who are of African descent.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am looking forward to meeting more students,\u201d Kia says of her involvement. \u201cI love when they reach out to me on LinkedIn. The media industry is very competitive. I am always going to try to help a Montclair student however I can, with advice or an introduction. I enjoy connecting people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever their goals, I encourage them to take advantage of all of the opportunities at Montclair,\u201d she continues. \u201cI also remind them that everything is not in their control, especially in a tough job market and tougher industry. You have to keep working hard and keep putting yourself in the path of opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kia takes particular pride in her alma mater\u2019s embrace of the many rich cultures on campus. \u201cI grew up in a small town,\u201d she points out. \u201cAt Montclair, I benefited from meeting people from around the country and around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

It has been a year since her father passed. Kia plans to be at Homecoming on Sept. 27, to celebrate her father\u2019s commitment to Montclair. \u201cIt is an honor to build his legacy at the University,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Homecoming at Montclair carries special meaning for Nakia (Kia) Swinton \u201916. As an engaged alumna, she followed in the footsteps of her father, the late Stephen Swinton \u201987, while crafting a Montclair legacy all her own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":443,"featured_media":216125,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-216123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-76_alumni-news-and-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/443"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216123"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":216133,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216123\/revisions\/216133"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/216125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}