Don’t act like you don’t know him. His presence is too unique to go unnoticed. He acts like a mature man but can — at times — have young and playful tendencies. Sophomore Chandler Smith is someone you’ve noticed. Buttoned down in nature, but you might be surprised to know that he’s the life of any party with his witty sense of humor and unmistakable presence. An outlier in terms of normative team culture — this young man has no trouble making friends. “I’ve always been social in nature so the making friends part is something I have no problems with,” he said.

First thing about Smith: you’ll rarely see him throwing on an old t-shirt or a pair of ratty jeans. The phrase “casual Fridays” might not even really be in his vocabulary. No matter the day, Smith could  toward the business casual look. “In this competitive world, it is imperative to make your looks and actions speak louder than words,” he said.

He definitely stands out in the crowd with his sometimes traditional sense of style, and his definition of laid back is not what you would normally find the average teen wearing.

“I know I may seem overdressed to some, but this is what I wear almost every day. Not too dressy. Kind of in the middle,” Smith said. “That’s why I’ll balance it out by going casual somedays. It really just depends on my mood when I wake up in the morning.”

He might not follow the normal teenage trends but he does participate in many “regular” activities. As far as social media goes, Smith doesn’t invest his time in the mindless scrolling down his Instagram feed but he is involved in the epidemic that is Snapchat. “I like it because it allows me to express my creativity and my sense of humor,” he said.

There are a host of Smith fans who have added him on Snapchat and who await his quirky videos. Beyond this social media foray, he tends to pursue pastimes that are not completely similar to those of his peers. He’s too busy plotting out his future. Usually, you’ll find him at a Starbucks on Saturday mornings chatting it up with entrepreneurs, CEOs and other successful figures.  Smith can be deemed as eccentric by youthful standards, but he’s surely determined if anything.

Unlike the aspiring professional basketball and football players that roam the halls, his dream is to one day practice Constitutional or Entertainment law before becoming a judge. He keeps like-minded company here at North Atlanta. His best friend at the school wants to attend Harvard and go into international business. For Smith, the prestigious university in Cambridge, Mass., is also a desired choice. While there – or at another strong college choice like Georgetown – he plans on pursuing a pre-law academic track that could involve majoring in either in journalism or psychology. “Georgetown is the best college to make connections at an early age, and because I want to go to the top of the American political scene, that’s the place for me,” he said.

Smith doesn’t play any video games or waste any time when it comes to his future, and he does have a big future in mind. He isn’t your average social butterfly but he fits in in his own way. Here at North Atlanta, he’s capable of befriending any group of people and of winning any audience over.

His quirky, but yet conventional personality is one to remember. You may not find another Chandler Smith walking these halls anytime soon.