A senior from Thornhill, Ontario, Canada...

Jeffrey Baer

Are friends and family cheering for you?
Oh yeah. My dad e-mailed everyone on his list, and I told all my friends at school, and everyone was really excited for me.

How did you prepare for the show?
I like to take, basically, my preparation by myself, um, because I feel I can best concentrate on my strengths and weaknesses. Um, I--I basically composed lists for myself to study, uh, and I'm just working from there.

Which categories do you hope to see?
Anything sports, ARTS, uh, ARTISTS, that sort of thing, uh, CANADA would be excellent. [Laughs] I assume that won't be on.

What are you most excited about?
Just the experience. This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing for me, and, uh, I just want to enjoy it while it lasts.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I'm hoping to be an actuary, uh, somewhere in Canada. My parents are all doctors, but I don't want to follow them into medicine. Uh, something math-related.

2007 Teen Tournament Summer Games semifinalist: $10,000.

17 at the time of the Teen Tournament.