Freshman Conner Small isn’t your typical 14-year-old. His passion is anything and everything involved with entertainment. “I like how [it allows you to] express controversial issues through enjoyable ways,” said Small.

His favorite book is considered by many as one of the scariest ever written: Stephen King’s IT. “The characters are so real, you feel like you are with them, gorgeously written,” he noted.

Small’s favorite TV show is the popular netflix series Stranger Things. He said he relates to one of the main characters, Will Byers, played by Noah Schnapp. Last year in his English class, Small even wrote an essay on his similarities to the character.

Besides being a movie and TV connoisseur, Small is a normal boy born and raised in Central Virginia with one sister, 2015 FCHS graduate Erin Small, who is now at Virginia Tech. Small’s parents, David Small and Stephanie Kelley, both teach at FCHS. His mom teaches World History I and his dad teaches TV Production, Leadership, and Outdoor Adventures. 

Small says his favorite memory is riding The Leviathan, one of the tallest roller coasters in the world last year in Canada. After high school, he hopes to attend either VCU Arts, William and Mary, or JMU to become a producer, director, lawyer or teacher.