by Jazmine Otey
Growing up, young African American, Aareyon Swain had a unique childhood. With the guidance of his family members, his skill set and intelligence were pushed beyond what he deemed capable. In his household a ‘C’ on a grade report was viewed as unacceptable and education was an aspect his family valued highly. His mother April Swain and his uncle Cleveland Swain wanted to shed a light on the number of avenues that could be taken to reach success when an individual is willing to work hard for it.
Ultimately, these principles shaped Aareyon’s ambitious mentality and followed him throughout his years in college at Winston-Salem State University. He claims during his time at the illustrious university he refused to be average and didn’t settle for less than what he knew he was capable of.
“I wanna get somewhere in life and I knew I had to go through college and get the right grades so that I could make it somewhere afterwards,” Aareyon said. “Plus, I have a little sister who looks up to me, so I wanted to set a good example for her.”
The tenacious young man recently just graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Political science and minor in economics. He was also on the Dean’s List for eight consecutive semesters and has future plans of going to law school to earn a degree and certification as a corporate based attorney.
“I am very proud of my son,” April expressed. “I have taught him to respect all and be a leader and not a follower. I am continuing to be proud as he takes his next journey into law school.”
Swain further states that in the future he aspires to own a business and establish his own brand so that his name holds meaning. In the meantime, he plans to work for different industries so that he can gain real life experience and learn as much as he can.
“You have to really make sure you build yourself up because at the end of the day all you really have is yourself,” Aareyon said. “If you want something done you have to depend on yourself and make sure you have your foundation. That’s why I’m so hard on myself — to get where I need to be.”
Aareyon looks up to his uncle Cleveland, a prominent area hair dresser who is owner/operator of his own shop for nearly twenty years–a fact Aareyon is most inspired by.
“I don’t have any children,” Cleveland said. “When Aareyon came into our lives he was like my first child because I was there day one with him and I’ve been there ever since. I was very active in his education and in pushing him.”
Cleveland taught Aareyon the importance of having a solid foundation as well as the importance of investing wisely. He also provided him with a myriad of different avenues for success such as initiating the young scholar’s internships with Delegate Sam Rasoul and helping him network with Patice Holland, an African American attorney with Woods Rogers’ law firm.
“Seeing my nephew/son graduate before my eyes May 18th was the biggest reward I could have ever received,” Cleveland said. “Even though he was the one receiving that diploma I received an even bigger award by watching him and seeing my time invested in him materialize. It just really left me speechless.”
Despite his many accomplishments Aareyon still feels as if there is a lot more to achieve. In three to five years, not only does he hope to have established his own business and earn his law degree but he hopes to have provided encouragement to others.
“I wanna be an inspiration to other young men – especially to other minorities, other Black men, that feel like they only have one option or whatever someone tells them,” he said. “You can really do whatever. You’ve just got to prove it to the world.”
