Persona #1: Chatham

Name: Chatham Whitmore
Gender: Male
Age: 24
Race: White
Hometown: Charlotte, NC

Background: Chatham is very privileged, an only child from a very affluent family in Charlotte. He is spoiled rotten and somewhat shallow. He has always had things handed to him and has always gotten by on his good looks and charm without having had to work for much of anything. He has a trust fund from his grandparents (not only is he an only child, but an only grandchild as well), so, even though his parents try to exert financial pressure to influence him, they can only do so much because he has his own source of income that supports his lifestyle. Chatham is very bright, but is bored by school. His main purpose in life is girls and partying, or partying with girls.

Student Status: Chatham is a six-year senior, and has been a senior for many years due to a variety of reasons--mostly because he's only done the minimum required per semester, dropped classes and changed his majors frequently. He is presently a psychology major even though his parents want him to go into business so that he can assume his rightful place in the family furniture business. Chatham struggles in class, usually because he is disinterested, bored, or because he does not regularly attend. He feels like there must be some interesting classes out there somewhere but he has been unable to find them. He has mixed feelings about graduating--he hates school yet he doesn't want to move on, so he marks time and wishes he could stay at school without having to study.

Residence and Getting Around: Chatham lives off campus in a fancy townhouse on Rosemary that he owns. His place is professionally decorated, but is a typical bachelor pad--a mess, even though he has someone come in and clean for him weekly. Chatham drives a red convertible Mercedes that his parents gave him for high-school graduation. He gets multiple parking tickets and has been towed or booted on multiple occasions. His car is a mess because he is always leaving the top down so it gets rained in, and he just doesn't have time to clean it or fuss with it. He can't remember the last time he had his oil changed but tells his father that he takes the car in for service religiously.

Daily Activity: Gets up late and usually misses his morning classes, if he has any, although now after six years, he has learned not to schedule anything before 11AM. Chatham's life revolves around one thing: Partying, and girls. OK, that's two things. His townhouse has a revolving door. Girls are coming in as others are going out. These are his years he thinks, so he may as well make the best of them. He occasionally goes to class, when he can remember when and where they are and has trouble keeping up with his classes, exams, assignments, etc. He always resolves to do better every semester, but he loses his resolve as semester wears on. When he does go to class, he likes to make fun of people (he is quite shallow), especially if some of his friends are in class with him. He has no close friends but has a circle of what he calls friends that he rotates, since his friends all end up graduating and moving on before him. Currently he has three friends that share some of his tastes and humor so he likes taking classes with them.

Technical Expertise and Experience: Chatham is very knowledgeable. Growing up privileged, he has always had access to the latest technology, and has quite a bit of experience with computers, internet technology, and gadgets. But he is largely bored by technology--he is not a "geek" always having the latest gadget or spending any more time on technology than what he needs to. He has a home network, PC, laptop, but he spends little time on them. He has no time or energy to waste on technology or on computers, when he can be partying. Chatham does use a Blackberry as his primary communication device but often loses it.

Desires: Chatham wishes he could be more organized. In the long run, he really has no idea what he will do with his life. He feels that he will inevitably assume the reigns of his family furniture business but the thought of furniture bores him to tears. He secretly wishes that his family would go out of business but he doesn't have a backup plan. He has taken some courses that have interested him, mainly psychology and mass media, but he can not imagine pursuing those fields for a living.

Likes/Dislikes: Chatham dislikes work of any kind. He has never had a job., and thinks work is for people who can't get what they want by the force of their personality. He is also not crazy about school, and barely gets by in class. He has occasionally failed a few classes. He simply finds school boring and dislikes all the classes his advisor tells him to take. What he does like are girls. He secretly admires strong, intelligent, independent women, but since they will usually have nothing to do with him, he spends most of his time with girls just out for a good time. He likes beer and lately he has been drinking different kinds of martinis.

Hobbies: Chatham has a secret desire to take up photography or film but he has never put any time or effort into it. His father thinks the arts are not serious enough, and no place for a man, so he dismisses this as a passing fancy. His only real hobby is partying and enjoying the finer things in life. Or, so he thinks.