IYA alumna Kaitlyn Chu grew up watching game shows like “Deal or No Deal,” “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune” with her family. But this summer, the tradition took a turn as they saw her compete on Season 2, Episode 6 of the FOX game show “Mental Samurai,” the first-ever obstacle course for the mind.

Hosted and produced by Rob Lowe, the show tests one’s intelligence and mental capabilities by putting them through different question categories all while being seated in a high-speed rotating capsule called Ava. 

Chu was contacted by a show agent for the chance to audition. Once she was accepted onto the show as the youngest contestant of the season, Chu shared that she felt nervous. But her family kept reminding her that the number one thing was for her to have fun. 

“Getting the opportunity to be on [a game show], I never knew that was something I could do,” she said. “But when it was within reach, yeah, I would love to see what this opportunity is." 

In order to prepare for her TV appearance, Chu watched episodes from the first season to better understand the types of questions that she could be asked. Once she started recognizing patterns, she was able to identify the categories she personally needed to work on: geography and pop culture. Chu then downloaded quiz apps and watched fun fact videos on YouTube to study more.

A few days after she learned she was going to be a “Mental Samurai” contestant, Chu found herself flying to Portugal to film at the Warner Bros. Studios lot. 

“[The filming experience] was super exciting just because I have interned in the entertainment industry before but I was never in front of the camera,” Chu said. “So being able to see what the behind-the-scenes look like, going through hair and makeup, getting snacks while we were on break was a fun perspective to have seen.” 

During her competition segment, Chu was asked a set of questions ranging from a variety of topics. For example, she had to answer whether or not the Winter Olympics are held every four years and the chronological order of when websites eharmony, Etsy and eBay launched. She was also spun around the arena by Ava between each question. 

"Ava itself was super fun. I thought ... the motions would ... mess me up,” Chu commented. “But it was super fun because I really like amusement parks and roller coasters.” 

While she wasn’t able to beat her competitor’s score, Chu still took home $4,000. 

Since the episode aired in June 2021, Chu shared that it still hasn’t hit her that she was on national TV. One of her favorite parts of this entire experience was seeing the reactions of her family and friends. A lot of people sent videos of them watching the episode and congratulated her for being on the show. 

“After this experience, it was so much fun so I can definitely see myself being open to [competing on other game shows] in the future and win even more.” 

Chu graduated from the Academy in May 2021 and will begin working as a product designer at Apple. She also hopes to continue making consumer products for families and children. 

Academy alumna competes on FOX game show ‘Mental Samurai’