North alumnus competes on Jeopardy

Samantha Fredberg

February 3, 2017

Photo courtesy of Jeopardy Productions, Inc.

This is Jeopardy! Let’s meet today’s contestants. From West Newton, please welcome, North Alumnus Loren Lee Chen!
Chen, ‘06, competed in an episode of Jeopardy released on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m.
“When I was at North, if there was ever a quiz team, I would try to be on it. I just think it’s fun to learn trivia,” Chen said.
“Though Loren was usually calm under pressure, he had a wry personality that made itself known,” said Chinese teacher Michele Leong. “He was hardworking and thoughtful, and was also a people person who helped things run smoothly.”
“We did not have a general quiz team when I was at North,” Chen added. “We had the science team and math team and stuff like that. The High School Quiz Show (HSQS) is very cool for that reason.”
HSQS is a single-elimination academic team competition for high school students in Massachusetts. The show’s scoring is similar to Jeopardy’s.
In order to be on Jeopardy, contestants must take an online test with 50 questions, then audition to see if they are comfortable on camera, according to Chen.
“For me, I practiced by watching a lot of Jeopardy episodes,” Chen said. “I also had the Jeopardy video games which are actually pretty helpful because they help you get the timing down, whereas watching on TV is just shouting out answers.”
Memorization and other tools built in the process of preparing for the show are important and helpful in school and careers outside of the world of Jeopardy, according to Chen. “It’s just reading a lot, going down Wikipedia rabbit holes, trying to do things that improve your memory,” he said.
Chen said he has always had a love for trivia. “It probably started with those trivia flashcards that would ask you random questions based on your grade level from the Scholastic events. I had all of those growing up, through middle school and high school,” he said.
As advice to all students, regardless of membership on a trivia team, Chen said to “read as much as you can, always try to learn, and no matter the situation, always pay attention to things.”

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