feature story / 13 the pit orchestra for Columbia’s musi- cal productions, including Hairspray last season. He is also on Columbia’s Varsity Ultimate Frisbee team, a sport that’s celebrating the 50th anniversary of its invention this year. The busy days of summer jobs and activities went by, and in late July his mother, Alison, got the call from the show's producer, whom she didn’t be- lieve initially. “I thought it was some kind of spam call,” she says. She was in part convinced when the producer recalled that Daniel was the “one with the blue Hawaiian shirt.” “I could not believe it,” says Dan- iel. “It was crazy to think that 10,000 people took this online test and they only selected 15 people to be on the show. It was really mind blowing.” Things moved fast, as Daniel would be flown to Los Angeles at the end of Au- gust, meaning he only had one month to prepare. He says he looked up Jeop- ardy prep techniques online, and read a long article on strat- egy by a former con- testant. He made the trip to L.A. with his par- ents and younger brother, Nate. At 8 a.m. on the day of filming, Daniel and his fellow contestants were taken by bus to the huge studio lot where, among other shows, Wheel of For- tune records. Oxman says he assumed that his interaction with other contes- tants would be very cold and competi- tive, but the small group of 15 teens became fast friends. Oxman says the Jeopardy set was unlike anything he had ever seen be- fore, but exactly as he’d imagined. “You know that scene in Willy Wonka [and the Chocolate Factory] where they first enter the Chocolate Factory and see everything? That’s what it was kind of like, but for nerds,” he joked. Now, as a fan of the show with real first-hand knowledge of its inner workings, Ox- man offers some show trivia: “Behind each person’s podium is a mechanical lift that adjusts for each contestant so that everyone appears the same height.” After makeup and some practice time with the buzzer, show taping be- gan, which Oxman admits was much harder than playing along at home. He points out that at home, the category The Oxman family L - R: Daniel, Alison, Michael and brother Nate. Photo by Joy Yagid. Daniel Oxman with Jeopardy host Alex Trebek. Photo: Jeopardy! Productions, Inc. SERVICE  KNOWLEDGE  EXPERTISE Broker / Sales Associate 973-214-4636 Susan.Blodgett@cbmoves.com Sales Associate 973-219-8865 Virginia.Spiegel@cbmoves.com Susan Blodgett, ABR Ginny Spiegel @WeKnowNJRealEstate 145 Maplewood Avenue Maplewood, NJ 973-378-8300 THIS IS HOME. THIS IS HOME. SAY HELLO TO A BETTER WAY TO BANK VISIT OUR NEW SOUTH ORANGE BRANCH AT 15 SCOTLAND ROAD Find out why our members enjoy banking with low fees, free checking, low-rate loans, mortgages and free access to 85,000 ATMs