If you’re one of the tens of millions of people who have loved watching 2022 ClemsonLIFE graduate Tanner Smith’s beautiful story unfold on Netflix’s smash hit “Love on the Spectrum,” then you’ve no doubt noticed his sister, Midge Smith ’24, who makes regular appearances on the show supporting her brother. If you’re one of Tanner’s millions of followers on social media, you’ve seen her in any number of his posts. Watch the clip of Jack Black surprising Tanner on the Kelly Clarkson Show that went viral earlier this year, and there’s Midge sitting on the couch next to him.
To an outside observer, she is seemingly by his side or a phone call away 24/7. The good news is that’s not a trick of editing. She has always been there for her brother whenever he needs her, because that’s what good sisters do.
“I was just a couple of months old when he was diagnosed,” she explains during a breezy interview in the rooftop lounge of the Shepherd Hotel in downtown Clemson. “So, my whole life, it’s been like Tanner is in the middle, and we’re rotating around him. It’s what he needed. When I was younger, I felt like second place sometimes. But now that I’m older, I see that it made me into the person I am today. And he’s so amazing. There’s no one I would rather be second place to.”
The Smith story
Watchers of “Love on the Spectrum” know that Smith has an effervescent personality and genuine curiosity about others. If you ever have the good fortune to interview her, that curiosity will be on full display. She will deftly turn the conversation around, and before you know it, you’ll be ten minutes into telling her your life story and wondering who is interviewing who.
“Her best trait is her genuine desire to truly know people,” says her mom, Nicci. “Midge is the most intentional and pure-hearted person I know. Her zest for life is unmatched. She loves adventure, new experiences, and new places . . . but what she loves most about those things is meeting people and hearing their stories. Her heart is as pure as they come.”
Smith grew up with Tanner, older sister Taylor ’19, who was “like a second mom to us,” and younger brother Maverick, who is graduating high school this year, on the family’s cotton and peanut farm in Saint Matthews, South Carolina (population 1,850, give or take). Their dad, Mark, who attended Clemson from 1985-88 and graduated from the USC School of Pharmacy in 1990, worked as a veterinary pharmacist while running the farm with his brother.
After Tanner was diagnosed with autism, Nicci set aside a nursing career to be a full-time mom and provide her four children with everything they needed to become responsible and caring adults.
“She should get all the glory and the credit for the amazing things happening to us right now,” says Smith. “Tanner is who he is because she was a rock star mom.”
Smith says it was never a chore for the family to give Tanner the attention he needed.
“We all have a little bit of caretaker in us thanks to how we were raised,” she explains. “And I have always had maternal instincts. We have lots of cousins, and I would babysit and nanny for them, but I think watching out for Tanner pulled out that side of me more than anything.”
Great big world
Hollywood tropes portray small rural towns as full of villains who bully anyone who’s different, but Smith says Saint Matthews was nothing like that.
“Tanner was famous in our town way before the world knew him,” she recalls. “There were a couple of times when he was young when we’d be out somewhere, and people would give us weird looks or something if he were stimming [repetitive, self-stimulating behaviors that individuals with autism may engage in to regulate emotions], but that was very rare. Saint Matthews is so small that everyone viewed him as one of their own. I’m very grateful we grew up there.”
Being passengers on Tanner’s extraordinary life journey has profoundly affected his siblings’ lives, Smith says.
“Tanner taught the three of us that it’s not our own world,” she says. “I feel like we learned that a lot earlier than most people. We acquired perspectives of empathy and acceptance of others at very early ages.”
That perspective led her to volunteer for a year in Ethiopia, Guatemala and Thailand with the Christian organization World Race after graduating from Saint Matthews’ private high school, Calhoun Academy, in 2019.
“It was a life-changing experience,” she says. “In Ethiopia, I only called home twice in three months because we were so far out in the field. I learned so much, and it solidified my desire to serve others.”
Smith’s father, Mark, says his daughter is uniquely qualified for that calling.
“She keeps a messy room and a messy car, because neither of these things is cherished,” he explains, adding that it’s because of her non-materialistic character that she can live in the poorest village in Africa as a missionary and never complain.
Smith’s wholehearted Christian faith remains one of the driving forces in her life, something she also credits to Tanner.
“Tanner is a huge reason I got into my faith,” she says. “As I said: When I was young, I felt like number two, but in my sophomore year of high school, I read the Bible and realized that in God’s eyes I’m number one, and that ignited a fire in me. That’s when my faith really took off.”
A gift to the world
Smith enrolled in Clemson’s College of Education in 2020 to earn a teaching degree at the same University where her brother was a junior attending the ClemsonLIFE program. Older sister Taylor had been a fellow student at Clemson during Tanner’s first two years and passed the baton to Smith for Tanner’s second half as a Tiger.
Mark says it was a perfectly executed play.
“All of Tanner’s ‘people’ absolutely loved her because they could see she is a kind and loving soul,” he says. “She would always sacrifice her Friday nights at Clemson to make sure they all had something fun to do.”
In Smith’s junior year at Clemson, 2022, “Love on the Spectrum” debuted and launched Tanner into the stratosphere of fame. It’s an experience very few people have ever had to navigate, autistic or not. His social media following went from about 200 Instagram followers to 915,000 overnight. His TikTok, which Nicci started after the season two premiere, has 1.5 million followers and counting.
For Smith, it was like the sky cracked open, allowing the public eye to peer in and see her brother as she’d seen him her whole life – as a gift to the world.
Naturally, she and the rest of the family rallied around to guide him through the ensuing whirlwind.
Smith says she knew her brother was seriously famous when they had to start stopping people at the Shepherd Hotel door, where Tanner works, because so many wanted to approach him.
“People were coming from far away, like Virginia and Texas, so their autistic son could meet Tanner and see him thriving,” she says, still incredulous. “We had to sit down with him and come up with a script, like, ‘OK, I’ll take one photo, but then I have to get back to work’ to keep it from becoming totally disruptive to the business.”
When asked if the family ever worries her brother might get overwhelmed by so much attention, Smith answers they do, and he does, but they know from experience how to handle it.
“We can see it on his face when it’s happening, and we’ll remove him from the situation,” she says. “Otherwise, he loves meeting and talking to people, and he can usually do that all day long. We like to just let him do his thing because we know spreading joy is his purpose.”
Smith herself is often recognized now, too.
“I have to get dressed to go to the grocery store these days,” she laughs. “I can’t just pop over there in my pajamas anymore.”
Dad Mark says if anyone deserves a little taste of fame, it’s his youngest daughter.
“Midge has the natural instincts to harness it and make the world a better place for us all,” he says. “She has a spirit of adventure and has always been my fearless child. I know she would love to use Tanner’s fame and hers to spread the word of Jesus around the world.”
Mom Nicci says Tanner’s unexpected celebrity has been a gift for the whole family, but nobody is better at dealing with the surreal nature of it all than his youngest sister.
“Midge has handled Tanner’s fame with grace and energy,” says Nicci. “She and my other two children adore their brother and are his biggest cheerleaders. They have been there when things were not glamorous or fun or exciting, and watching them cheer him on and celebrate his unexpected success has been truly beautiful.”
Destiny in progress
Tanner himself is full of nothing but love for his little sister.
“I want people to know that she’s a good sister, and she’s a good teacher, and she’s very smart,” he says with the sincere, charming cadence that has made him a national treasure. “She is one of my best friends.”
Smith currently teaches first grade at Whitehall Elementary School in Anderson. She’s excited to launch the career she feels she was destined for, but there is one dream she holds even closer to her heart than being a teacher, and it springs from having lifetime front-row seats to watching her hero at work.
“I was always great with kids. They’ve always just gravitated towards me. So yeah, I kind of always knew I’d be a teacher one day, but you know what else I want to be when I grow up?” she says, brushing a lock of hair out of her eye as the late afternoon sun conjures another light wind across the rooftop. “This is my real dream: I want to be a mom like my mom.”
Until then, Smith hopes to grow as a teacher and follow her dad’s trademark advice to “Drive fast! Take chances!” and make a positive impact on the world.
And she will remain at her brother’s side as a charter member of Team Tanner — a warm and familiar brace whenever he needs someone to lean on, because that’s what good sisters do.
The post Sibling revelry: Midge Smith ’24 finds faith, purpose supporting brother Tanner Smith of Netflix smash “Love on the Spectrum” appeared first on Clemson News.
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