He viewed his smile as imperfect. To those around him, it’s what they loved most.

On March 4, Chandler Tran, a freshman at Washington State University, died while traveling from Pullman to his hometown of Tacoma, Washington. He was involved in a head-on collision with an oncoming car 18 miles west of Washtucna, Washington. Kylie Hammington, 42, was in the other car and also died in the accident.

Tran’s passing left his friends in shock.

“I just talked to him two days ago to see if we could hang out,” said Jovanis Rodriguez, Tran’s friend who had known him since sixth grade. “It’s so sad that someone so young that you just talked to could have passed away like that.”

Kieren Reanne Johnson, Tran’s girlfriend, said that she was surprised to hear the news and cannot believe that he is gone.

“When I found out, I couldn’t wrap my mind around the idea. It didn’t make sense to me,” Johnson said. “A part of me knew that he wouldn’t come home, but another part wanted to think it was a dream.”

According to Johnson, Tran was studying in the department of criminal justice and criminology. She added that he wanted to pursue a career in the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Tran’s friends described him as hard-working and said that he dealt with adversity when he chose to attend college.

“A lot of people had doubts about him. He always wanted to prove people wrong,” said Bradley Carroll, one of Tran’s friends from Tacoma. “He went to college like he knew he would.”

Friends of Tran said that he spent a lot of time with schoolwork and pushed himself to succeed in his education.

“In the beginning of high school, he messed around, but he got more focused junior year,” Johnson said. “Every day after school he worked on scholarships, college applications or something for college.”

Tran’s friends spoke highly of his approachable and extroverted personality.

“In high school, he was the class clown — everyone loved him and he had no enemies ever. He knew how to make you laugh and smile,” Carroll said.

Rodriguez talked about Tran’s ability to comfort individuals.

“If you were ever upset, Chandler would always be there for you. He always motivated people, was so nice, and always positive,” Rodriguez said.

Johnson spoke giddily about Tran’s smile.

“I loved his smile. He hated it — but it was my favorite thing about him,” Johnson said.