As a new student at SMU, Chaise Mooty is making the most out of his time. In addition to a full load of classes, Mooty also has a demanding and time-consuming part-time job. Did I mention he is a very successful male model?

If his name sounds familiar, it is because Mooty won the 2004 F!D and Kim Dawson Model search. Since then he has done everything from Abercrombie ads to New York Fashion Week runway shows.

I asked him how his life changed after wining Model Search and then after coming back to school. His response: “For a while it didn’t change too much. In high school I would miss every once in a while. It really didn’t change until the middle of my senior year. I graduated early and I moved to New York City, and I lived there up until May of this year.”

As for attending SMU: “I’m not able to work as much as I used to, but it’s a sacrifice I’m making to get my education.”

“Hopefully after I finish school, I will be able to pick back up like it was when I wasn’t in school.”

Mooty is a mild-mannered young man, but you would never guess that if you saw him walking down a runway. When someone meets him for the first time (knowing about his career), they immediately go to their stereotypes of male models. On the contrary, Mooty is as he put it, “not the kind of person you would expect me to be.”