He is not your stereotypical techno-geek or rough-and-ready jock, just a bright young man determined to do things a certain way.

Auburn’s Matt Sencenbaugh is an anomaly —  someone who might not look the part but certainly gets it. He is a resourceful leader who promises to go far, in his own spirited way.

He thrives in the academically competitive, intimidating mecca of Stanford University, where he keeps up a 3.02 GPA while studying computer science.

He recently launched his own online project: a nontraditional advertising company. And he spent his summer as a software engineering intern at Intuit Inc., in nearby Silicon Valley, examining programming and marketing tactics with one of the industry’s giants.

Out of the box and away from computer monitors, he finds time to train and keep his firm grip on a varsity roster spot as a 125-pound All-America wrestler with the Pac-10 Cardinal.

“I got beat up as a freshman, had a terrible record,” admitted Sencenbaugh, a state champion and four-time Mat Classic placer at Auburn High School. “I redshirted last year, and I’m ready to come back for a better season. I do love wrestling.

“I have a lot of respect for the college athlete,” he added. “It’s definitely physically and mentally demanding. It takes a lot of time commitment … but I think it’s worth it.”

For a focused 21-year-old student, such a load of responsibilities comes naturally, especially for someone willing to share his talents with the rest of the world.

“I try to keep the glass three-quarters full,” said Sencenbaugh, who graduated the top of the 2008 class at Auburn High, earning a scholarship to Stanford for his athletic and academic performance. “I try to keep a positive attitude.

“When I do something, it’s nothing half-baked or half-done, I do things full bore.”

Sencenbaugh credits the strong support of family and the Auburn community for preparing him well for today’s challenges.

The student entrepreneur continues to juggle new ideas. His latest creation has taken him into the world he might redefine. He hopes his brainchild – www.adsreload.com – will change the way customers use paid iPhone applications for free and how developers of Web apps advertise. It’s alternative advertising for the iPhone, where users get paid apps for free and developers are guaranteed downloads.

Many fledgling startups come and go, and Sencenbaugh understands the nature of a volatile, competitive business. Yet he is ready to take his shots. He is slowly gaining clientele.

“In the software world, it’s hard to get the initial momentum for people to use it,” he said. “(My idea) isn’t going to replace traditional advertising by any means, but it’s a new place to explore.”

Sencenbaugh doesn’t know where the next turn in his busy life will take him, but he welcomes the possibilities. He can see himself becoming the CEO of his own firm one day, perhaps creating the next-generation Google network. But he isn’t someone who will live isolated in his own work, detached from the regular crowd.

“That technical wizard, that brilliant mind or that smartest guy? I’m never going to be that man because I’m a people person,” he said. “I don’t want to be sitting around a desk all my life. I want to be out there.

“I feel like I’m doing my own thing,” he said. “Whatever I do, hopefully I find it challenging and fulfilling in life.”