March 28, 2024

alumni

From Brooklyn to Elkin, UNCSA alumni forge their personal entrepreneurial paths

As a young female in Brooklyn, New York, alumna Dwana Smallwood knew she was a dancer,
but she under no circumstances dreamed she would turn out to be a company owner. “The language I converse is
dance,” says the dancer, choreographer and educator who established Dwana Smallwood Performing
Arts Middle in the community where by she grew up. The word “entrepreneur” didn’t
register, even as she built and sewed T- shirts, produced customized dolls, and braided
hair to pay for dance lessons.

T. Oliver “Tim” Reid (B.M. Music ’93) was basically born executing in Gastonia, North Carolina. While at UNCSA,