Veterans Spotlight: Nia Swinton-Jenkins
Nia Swinton-Jenkins is a Realtor® with Carolina One Real Estate, proud veteran, a wife and mother of two. Nia grew up in Mt. Pleasant, SC with her parents and three brothers. She is a graduate of Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, North Carolina where she earned a degree in Bio-Medical and Scientific Communication and later, a Masters in Public Health and Code Policy. She had a successful career in Clinical Research until she transitioned into real estate.
At 29 years old, Nia commissioned as an officer in the US Army. She completed basic training in Fort Jackson before graduating from Federal Officer Candidacy School in Fort Benning. She is currently a First Lieutenant promotable to Captain with 10 years of service. As a Medical Services Officer in the National Guard, she advises the Commander on how to plan for medical service missions and is responsible for ensuring they have everything required for deployment.
Nia decided to pursue a career in real estate 5 years ago to honor her mother’s memory. She and her mother had planned to go into the business together doing fix and flips—Nia would handle the real estate portion and her mother would stage the properties to sell. Unfortunately, they never got to pursue their partnership, so Nia moved forward with her mother’s spirit by her side. After completing real estate school, she realized she was not only good at selling real estate, but really enjoyed it. She felt her transferable skills were an asset and left her position at the VA hospital to focus full time on real estate.
Nia’s leadership journey with CTAR began when she was invited to join the DE&I taskforce. She attended association events, pursued opportunities to volunteer and participated in the CTAR Leadership Academy. At the same time, she pursued accomplishments on the education front as well—she’s earned the Military Relocation Professional (MRP), At Home with Diversity, and Real Estate Negotiation Expert certifications and designations, with plans to pursue more. This fall, Nia interviewed and was selected join the 2024 Board of Directors.
Outside of the real estate world, Nia actively volunteers at Seacoast church, Palmetto Military Support Group, the Travis Manion Foundation, in the community at Snowden Civic Association, with her sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha Mocks Corner Chapter and is a board member with an up-and-coming organization Okra Soup Foundation which focuses on the Gullah Geechee culture.
Given her background, Nia focuses much of her transactional work on helping military personnel and medical professionals. A large portion of her transactions are land deals and relocations. She says that the biggest challenge she’s faced is affordable housing, but combats that by being creative, partnering with lenders and educating clients in a way that helps them feel empowered in a competitive market. Sometimes, she tells her clients to wait, if that’s the best option for them, or if they need to build a strong financial foundation before purchasing. She wants her clients to know they have a partner in her—Nia is a Realtor® for life.
