20 students appear on My4Albany’s local production of hit show

Some were nervous, some forgot what they were supposed to say during taping, and some played it cool, as if they were television veterans. But in the end, the 20 Boght Hills students who were selected by a lottery to participate in the extra credit segment of Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?, stepped in front of the camera and experienced a moment they will never forget.

On December 8, My4Albany cameras came to Boght Hills Elementary to record the students reading their extra-credit questions. The students were given a single question with three multiple choice answers, as well as the correct answer. Students read their questions over and over in order to memorize it, because once the cameras started rolling, they could no longer read it off the sheet of paper.

When 5th grader Anne Lincoln, of Mrs. Goldberg’s class, found out she was selected from the lottery, she was admittedly a little nervous.

“I did not want to do it at first,” Lincoln said. “I guess the more I read the question, the easier it got – I was still a little nervous though.”

Elijah Gaddy, of Mrs. Carbone’s 5th grade class, who has watched the show before, said he did not expect to be selected and could not wait to tell his parents when he got home.

“They were really excited and happy when I told them,” he said. “I have watched it twice already!”

When asked if he received any feedback from his family on his television debut, Elijah responded:

“They said it looked like I was looking up at the ceiling. They asked me if I was looking at a fly! But it only looked like that because of how the camera was positioned.”

Samahria Alpern, of Mr. McNamara’s 5th grade class, has a bit of television experience, so she was not as nervous as some of her other classmates.

“My brother plays guitar and was on a local telethon recently, so I got the chance to be on with him,” Samahria said.

Samahria did notice something a bit odd though when she watched her episode.

“My voice sounded much different,” she exclaimed. “It was really soft and sounded weird! But my dad said I did great.”

Each of the students thought the overall experience was great and it was clear they were all very proud of themselves.

“I never thought I’d be on television,” Elijah said. “It was really cool.”

When asked if he thought he would ever be on television again, Elijah had an interesting answer.

“I play soccer, so maybe as a soccer player.”

The shows are still airing this week on channel 4, between the hours of 7-8 p.m.