“Give all you can and give back.”

Charles Jefferson “CJ” Spraggins Jr. calls it a life maxim, one passed down to him during his student years at Buford High School.

“The Buford High School program instills in its students a drive for personal excellence and encourages humility through community support,” Spraggins said.

The Buford resident and founding member of the law firm Spraggins in Lawrenceville is actively involved in his local community. Spraggins is a member of the Buford Business Alliance, and his law firm sponsors both one Buford High School football player and one baseball player each school year. His law firm also supports the North Gwinnett Co-op, a Buford-based ministry that provides food, clothing, financial aid and spiritual support to people in need in the area.

Spraggins is a Buford “lifetimer”, having attended Buford City Schools from K-12.

“Buford High School has always challenged its students and faculty to excel in the arts, academics, and athletics, as well as to support the Buford community,” Spraggins said. “When I was in school, we were encouraged to participate in all three areas.”

In sports, Spraggins was a college wrestler. He excelled in the arts as a member of the Bel Canto Chorale and Quartet and was selected to perform with the Honors Chorus and with the All-State Chorus. In the realm of academic excellence, Spraggins was an honor graduate. He also served as junior and senior class president.

Spraggins’ fondest memory from high school is graduating.

“Graduating with all the kids I grew up with was celebrated by the community I grew up in,” Spraggins said. “It was nice to see that we all made it…together.”

After graduating in 1994, Spraggins attended the Georgia Institute of Technology with the intention of majoring in electrical engineering.

“I changed course after two and a half years, deterred that engineering was for me,” Spraggins said.

He then enrolled at the Georgia State University School of Music and earned a degree in music business and a minor in marketing. After taking a few years off to travel the world, he returned to law school at Georgia State University and graduated in 2006.

“I immediately took the bar from New York and moved to New York to swim with the sharks, so to speak,” Spraggins said. “The experience was very rewarding and opened my eyes to the world. Don’t worry, a country boy or girl can survive.

A lifelong student of martial arts, Spraggins studied Brazilian jujitsu with Norman Bignall at Underground Martial Arts in downtown Buford. His interests include travel.

“I travel as much and as often as I can,” Spraggins said. “The next few years will be spent visiting geological and natural wonders.”

Spraggins is the son of Jeff and Carolyn Spraggins. He has a younger brother named Nathaniel.

Buford High School Alumni Spotlights are made possible through the generosity of the City of Buford.