Litinsky, 23, is the youngest candidate on “The Apprentice,” but said during the show that his youth, energy and Harvard-groomed intellect were all assets, not liabilities.

“I’m here because I’m a nationally ranked debater,” Litinsky bragged. “So when I get into the boardroom, I feel like that’s my home turf.”

A south Florida native, Litinksy is the youngest of four brothers, which helped him learn to read people at an early age.

“He was kind of quiet,” said Jim Litinsky, one of Andy’s brothers. “He’d absorb everything. You’d see him sitting in a corner of a room full of adults, and his eyes would be darting all around him.”

Litinksy learned to speak up for himself.

In 1999, Litinsky won the national championships of the National Forensic League in the extemporaneous speaking commentary division.

“I’ve argued with him for 20 years,” said his brother, Jim Litinksy. “He is an incredible thinker. He goes into the room more prepared than anyone else. That’s a trait of really successful people.”

Litinsky skipped his final semester at Harvard, but still graduated cum laude last June.

During his three and a half years at Harvard, Litinsky distinguished himself by co-founding the Harvard AIDS Coalition, participating at the Institute of Politics and building a personal reputation as a campus funny man.

“There is so much more in terms of Andy compared to Donald,” Levitsky said.

The free-spirited Litinksy installed an antenna on the roof of Dunster House so that he and his roommates could access cable television. When University officials complained, Litinsky petitioned to prevent Harvard from dismantling his creation. Though he eventually lost the antenna, he managed to keep his cable access for seven months.

“Andy’s very funny, very confident,” said Sara E. Padua ’06, who remembers his comedy acts from Dunster’s open-mic. “His whole blocking group always seemed to be having fun and being goofy.”

While Litinsky may have shown an eager interest in television, his friends did not expect he would wind up on prime-time so soon.

“It was weird to see him on TV, because he was just a normal guy I had classes with,” Esther J. Olivarez ’04 said.

Olivarez learned that intellect is not the most important trait on screen during her stint as soap opera intern. “What it comes down to is charisma because they don’t want someone who’s boring, no matter how smart they are,” she said.