On Wednesday, The Daily Beast published a piece detailing President Donald Trump's chief strategist Steve Bannon's time as a college student at Virginia Tech in the 1970s.

Bannon has stirred controversy since his position in the White House was announced in November. Before his stint in Washington, he headed up Breitbart, a news site that's a favorite among the "alt-right" (AKA white nationalists). NBC also reported that his ex-wife accused him of making anti-Semitic comments during their divorce proceedings, and he was reportedly one of the main architects of Trump's Muslim ban that was signed during his first week in office.

What was Bannon like long before he took the helm at Breitbart and then eventually landed at the White House? Here are some of the tidbits from The Daily Beast's profile on Bannon as a college student at Virginia Tech.

1. He was very involved in campus politics.

“I can remember one of [our] roommates saying, ‘Steve’s gonna end up in the White House one day,’” John DePaola, a former roommate of Bannon's, told The Daily Beast. “He was more intellectual than any of us.”

According to Virginia Tech's student-run newspaper The Collegiate Times, Bannon was student body president during his senior year. "During his campaign and after his win, he was known for the same controversial style as he is today," Jeanne Centracchio DaDamio, a student government peer of Bannon's, explained to The Collegiate Times.

2. His political views were very different.

According to his friends, Bannon spent a lot of time reading about history, politics, and philosophy; his politics were "left-of-center" at the time. "I was quite surprised many years later when…he popped back up [in Hollywood and then Breitbart] as an arch-conservative," DePaola said to The Daily Beast. "Honestly, I was shocked."

The Washington Post reported back in February that Bannon's political views changed greatly during his time in the Navy after college. More specifically, he served during the Iran hostage crisis, where 60 American hostages were held for 444 days in the U.S. Embassy in Iran from 1979 to 1981.

3. He had a put-together demeanor.

Much has been written about how Bannon is in control at the White House, and his friends from school said he had a similar demeanor and hold on situations in college. "He always seemed to be in control—we’d go to these keg parties, you know because college, and he would go and sit around and hold court, and he always seemed to keep it together," DePaola explained.

For the full story, head to The Daily Beast.

Related: Steve Bannon: 8 Things to Know About Donald Trump’s Chief Strategist

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