High School Teacher From East Brunswick Competing On 'Jeopardy!'

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ – A high school teacher from East Brunswick will be a contestant on “Jeopardy!” The episode featuring Ben Coller, a high school history teacher from East Brunswick School District, will be aired on July 12.

“I have been watching the show forever. People kept encouraging me to go on the show because I’m such a trivia-minded person,” Coller told Patch.

Last year, Coller decided to participate and took an online test with 30 questions. Six months later he tried again and received a call to participate in the next round, which was held virtually.

“It was on Zoom. And there were maybe like 15, or 20 other people doing the trivia at the same time. I think they want to make sure you're not a bot and no one is feeding you the answers,” Coller said.

The teacher was then selected for the final round, also held on Zoom. “It was a sample game on Zoom with me and two other people. After that, I was in the contestant pool. So essentially they call you at any time,” he said.

Coller was finally chosen from the pool of contestants in April. And in the first week of May, he flew down to Los Angeles to film for the show. “They're extremely careful about COVID-19 protocols. We didn’t have a typical green room. Instead, the "Wheel of Fortune" set was out waiting room,” Coller said.

Although the environment is competitive, Coller said he made friends with other contestants. “I was a little nervous to be there thinking it would be a cutthroat atmosphere. But it wasn't like that at all. Everybody was super nice and just excited to be there,” he said.

Coller filmed with host Mayim Bialik, who he described as “really nice.” However, as a longtime viewer of the show, he said he missed the opportunity to film with the iconic Alex Trebek who died in November 2020.

“I grew up watching him. It would have been the cherry on top. But Mayim is doing a great job and I had a great experience with her.”

A longtime East Brunswick resident, Coller said he’s looking forward to his colleagues and students watching him on the show.

“I hope my students will be excited to see me on the show. As for my colleagues, I didn't tell that many people ahead of time. I told my boss and he made me promise not to end up in the negative at the end of the show,” Coller said.

To watch how Coller fared on “Jeopardy!”, tune in on July 12. The show is aired on weekdays at 7 p.m. on ABC.

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