Radio Park Elementary school principal, Alex Raup, represented State College Area School District on the big screen when he took on the show, Beat Shazam, on Aug. 18, 2021. Raup made one of the biggest comebacks the show has ever seen, took home the money, and made history as the first SCASD employee to not only be on a game show, but win one. 

Raup auditioned for the game show with his best friend and Mount Nittany physical education teacher, Karly Mozden, in 2018. Due to COVID, it took a while to air the show.

“I applied for the show back in 2018 through the show’s website and was contacted in January 2020 to officially audition,” Raup said. Before he knew it, he was on his way to Los Angeles for the recording and making of the show. 

In Beat Shazam, players must guess the song being played before time runs out. At the beginning of the game, Raup and his teammate struggled to keep up with the other players and were falling behind with their score. Nervous excitement ran through Raup’s head as he tried to not only make a comeback but to stay in the game. 

“I had to keep my energy up. I wasn’t able to clap that loud either—if you may have noticed, we weren’t really clapping, as it messed up the audio in the mics—and I had to focus,” Raup said. A key part of the game is being able to stay focused and remember specific cues from the directors and show protocols. 

With money on the line, the stress was real. Raup had to come up with ways on the spot to calm his nerves and keep his head in the game. 

“Since the game is based on speed, there were a number of times where we missed songs we know because we were trying to answer faster than our competitors or Shazam (the clock).  When you miss, you have to be able to shake it off and get ready for the next song/round,” Raup said. 

Raup believed that the best thing to do in this situation is to persevere. Raup was able to make a comeback in order to take it home and win a victory. Following his win, Raup took a moment and reflected on his experiences. 

“Soak it all in! The day goes so fast and is a wild ride! Also, if it’s a team competition, make sure you pick a teammate who will be fun to travel with and relive the experience over and over. Ms. Mozdzen and I had a blast,” Raup said.

Raup has not only made history in the district, but he has now made history across the country with his iconic win and come back on the gameshow, Beat Shazam.