Young businesswoman on the rise: Raven C. Magwood ’12

Three D’s, one young woman and a long list of accomplishments and ambitions. Recent graduate Raven Magwood believes that dedication, determination and discipline are the sources to her success. She graduated from Clemson at the age of 19, but that’s just one of her many accomplishments.
By the time she was 12, Magwood had a national gymnastics title, was a published author and had started high school. At 16, she followed in her parents’ footsteps to Clemson, planning on a career in medicine. A conversation with her mother altered that career path.
“She asked me if someone would pay me to do anything, what would I do? I told her that I would speak and write,” Magwood said. With her parents’ support, she changed her major to communication studies.
By this time, her motivational speaking was gaining a lot of attention. Halfway through college, she made a bold decision to take time off to host her own television show, “The Raven Magwood Show,” which aired Saturday mornings on My 40. She interviewed celebrities that included Alveda King (Martin Luther King Jr.’s niece), actress Porscha Coleman and former Clemson football player Stanley Hunter. After a year and a half, Magwood decided it was time to go back and finish her degree.
Her final year at Clemson, she attended classes during the week and spent most of her weekends traveling the country to speak and promote her third and latest book, The 7 Practices of Exceptional Student Athletes. Magwood graduated in December, finishing college in just four semesters. And now she has plunged into her full-blown career of speaking and writing.
Her advice to others? “It is key to set goals; when times get tough for me, my goals show me what I’m working so hard for and where I want to be.”