Kathryn Swinson More Than Meets The Eye
Kathryn Swinson is only nineteen, but she is already a junior by credits in college and owns several businesses. Kathryn is attending East Carolina University and is a junior because while she was in high school she took classes at the local community college earning her twenty-one credits.
While in high school Kathryn was a trainer for the football and basketball team. Her mother said this was very interesting because the football coach Kathryn helped out was also the football coach her mother helped out while she was in high school.
Kathryn was on the tennis team her senior year. She said she would have been on it all four years, except they just started the tennis team her senior year.
Other than being habitually late to class in high school she has always been very dedicated to school and everything she puts her mind to. According to Danielle, one of Kathryn’s friends, she has never made anything less than an A and is one of the smartest people she knows.
Kathryn originally applied for college at UNC-Wilmington, NC State, and ECU. Even though she is a NC State fan, after visiting the ECU campus she felt at home.
After taking a few general education classes Kathryn realized she could capitalize on her people skills and make communications her major.
Kathryn is now majoring in Public Relations partly because she knew she could apply it to the companies she and her brother started.
While in high school Kathryn and her brother started a company called Golden Grove Candy Company. Lee Swinson, her father, explained with the way the economy was going; people were starting to buy straight from the farmers said. The siblings bought a warehouse where they could store peanuts and began making their own candy.
The main products are peanut crisp, peanut brittle, and peanut cream. The company is still in the growing process but has a very bright future with lots of growth potential.
Now in college she takes care of the PR and corporate aspects of the company while her brother takes care of the day to day running of the company.
Kathryn also owns KT Farms, a branch of her parent’s farm which she also says has a lot of growth potential.
Kathryn enjoys shopping and exercising in her free time. One of her favorite things to do is to go to New York and go shop for handbags. She has been known to come back with up to 15 at a time according to a friend Danielle.
Although she doesn’t drink Kathryn still knows how to let loose and have fun. While on a trip to Myrtle Beach with her friends Danielle and Courtney were all hanging out at a restaurant and three guys on motorcycles drove by, they decided they wanted to go for a ride. It was all fun and games until they got pulled over by the police for not wearing helmets. That is the only time Kathryn has ever gotten in any kind of trouble according to Danielle. Danielle said, “we tried to take care of the tickets so our parents wouldn’t find out. But a year later our parents got something in the mail and they weren’t very happy with us.”
Growing up only an hour away from ECU in Mount Olive, Kathryn helped her parents’ farm from the age of five until she graduated high school. The Swinson’s family owns over a 2000 acre farm and grows peanuts, cotton, tobacco, and wheat. They also raise cows.
Filed under: Classmate Profiles, Spring 2008