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About a month after graduating from James Madison University (JMU) with a degree in Media Arts and Design, Nansemond-Suffolk Academy alumnus Colby Owens landed a job with iHeartRadio in Tampa, Florida.

“I feel super blessed,” he said. “I have lost a lot. I lost my brother before graduation. I’ve always felt like something kind of pulling me down. So [I’m] definitely, like, super blessed to be able to kind of still strive to be able to be where I am today.”

Although Owens started out on the pre-law track in college, he quickly changed to something he got more enjoyment from.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Owens and his friends regularly made podcasts to fill their time. That’s when he fell in love with broadcasting and radio.

At JMU, Owens joined the student-run radio station and club, WXJM, where he hosted a show called Hip Hop House Party. He talked about the rap industry, urban music, and sports. 

“Shout out WXJM, because if it wasn’t for them, I definitely wouldn’t be where I am,” Owens said.

Owens said the transition from college radio to a professional station was “scary,” but he was ready for the change and eager to start his career.

Kim Parker, Owens’ mom, said while they may not have seen radio in his future as a kid, there were definitely signs he would end up there.

“Now, like, looking back, it was almost like it was instilled in him, and he didn’t even know it,” she said.”

Parker reflected on when Owens was around eight years old and he called into a local radio station while his parents were on their way to a concert. 

“He just said, ‘I just wanted to tell my mom and dad to have fun, and I hope they’re safe.’ You know this and that. And he thought it was so cool.”

After starting a DJing business, Parker said Ownes was always mixing tracks, and he used to record himself on an old camcorder pretending to interview people. 

Even while attending Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, Owens said he loved saying the Pledge of Allegiance over the intercom every morning.

After almost a year and a half of being on air, Owens has three shows between two stations. He hosts a Sunday morning show on 93.3 FLZ playing top pop hits, and a Saturday and Sunday evening show on 106.5 The Beat playing classic hip hop and R&B.

Parker said she regularly listens to Owens’ shows on the weekends, streaming it on the iHeart app, especially when they have people over for events at their house.

“I think one time we were at a family cookout, we had it on the speaker, and it’s just really cool, like, some people don’t realize we’re playing him,” she said. “And they’re like, ‘That sounds like Colby.’ It is Colby, that’s why we’re playing it. Some of the nieces, nephews, cousins, get to hear and they think it’s super cool.”

Owens started out in the promotions department before getting an on-air slot. 

The program director at the time, Dwight Ricketts, known as DJ D-Strong on the radio, and Owens quickly became close when he started at iHeart. Ricketts said he sees Owens as a little brother, and admired his work ethic and positive energy.

“He definitely brings his own personality,” Ricketts said. “[He’s] always full of ideas and trying to incorporate features and things of that nature into his shows.”

Part of Owen’s job is interacting with listeners of the station and artists the station supports. So far, he’s interviewed comedians including DeRay Davis and D.C. Young Fly. 

He said one of his most memorable interviews was with rapper Bow Wow. What could have been an awkward interview session turned into an impromptu dance party in Bow Wow’s dressing room.

Owens’ first fan interaction was with a young girl and her mom while he was working at a concert. He was running to an interview when he heard someone call his name. He stopped, although he probably didn’t have time, and chatted with them for a few minutes.

He took a photo with them and the young girl asked for an autograph.

“I love autographs,” Owens said. “It was always weird growing up seeing people do that, and you always think it’s just like athletes or super famous people. And then you get into the industry, you realize, like, how much you do make a change in people’s life or, like, inspire people in the daily and how much that means to them. So this little girl asking for my autograph, that meant a lot to her, but she didn’t realize, that meant a lot to me too.”