With a passion for trivia, flash cards and hours of studying, area resident Kian Barry will be competing on ABC’s “Jeopardy!” quiz show on Oct. 4.
Born and raised in the East Brunswick, Barry graduated from East Brunswick High School in 2004 and lived in East Brunswick for 27 years.
He currently lives in Hopewell Township, while he is a teacher of Advanced Placement World History and European History at Princeton High School.
“I’ve been interested in trivia my whole life. When I was a kid I’d memorize lists for fun and accidentally wound up memorizing other things. It’s a consequence of being indiscriminately curious, for the most part,” Barry said.
“I took the online test without thinking much of it the first time just to have fun and quiz myself for a few minutes, and started really thinking about it when I had my first in-person audition. I had always figured the people on ‘Jeopardy!’ were too smart for me before.
“The process is rigorous. About 100,000-200,000 people take the online test each year, of which the best 2,500 scores are invited to an in-person audition. At the audition, I took another written test, played a simulated game against other potential contestants, and participated in an interview portion.
“Four hundred people are chosen every year to compete on the show. I had passed the test once before but was not selected. This time I found out a year later that I was headed to Los Angeles.”
Barry said he received two calls – which he ignored because of the odd area code, thinking it was spam – and then an email letting him know that his taping would be in a month. He said he is glad casting agents didn’t give up on reaching him.
Mostly studying subjects that are common on “Jeopardy!” Barry said he focused categories that he was not strong in, such as opera, classical music and literature. Categories such as geography, history and pop culture, in which he is much more learned, he said he mostly ignored.
“I was given one month of notice for the show. I simulated playing the games in my living room from DVRed ‘Jeopardy!’ games and studied the topics mentioned through flashcards and the J-archive, a site that lists nearly every clue every given on the show since before I was born,” Barry said.
Barry said while filming his episode he had an incredible time.
“It was surreal to walk into a studio I’ve seen thousands of times on TV and be part of an American institution. I feel deeply honored that I will forever have been part of such an incredible program,” Barry said. “Studying was rewarding for someone who loves it, too. I think it’s strictly better to know things than to not know things and I’m glad for all I’ve learned in the process.”