Can You ‘Figure it Out?’ Seneca Valley Student Appearing on Nickelodeon Show

Laura Neu has a hidden secret talent—one that four Nickelodeon celebrities are scratching their heads to figure out.

A sophomore at Seneca Valley Intermediate High School, Laura, 15, recently was a contestant on Figure It Out, a popular Nickelodeon show where four Nick celebrities try to guess the contestant's hidden talent.

During three rounds of play, the panel can only ask the contestants, who range in age from 9 to 15, yes or no questions. For each round that the panel is stumped, the contestant wins a prize. If panel is stumped for all three rounds, the contestant wins a trip as a grand prize.  

Already a Figure It Out fan, Laura said she was chosen for the show after her mom, Lori Neu, a scientific glass blower at the University of Pittsburgh, received an email in August looking for talented preteens and teens to be contestants on the show.

Like her mom, Laura is skilled in glass blowing. After the initial email, Laura said she submitted a video of her blowing glass. A few days later, she was elated to learn she had been chosen for the show.

“I was in horrible mood that night,” she recalled. “All of a sudden I just started screaming and jumping up down. It was just the most amazing feeling.”

Although the new season of Figure It Out started Monday, Oct. 15, Laura said she is unsure when her episode will air on Nickelodeon.

Along with her mom, Laura said she flew out to Paramount Studios Sept. 11 for two days of shooting—and sightseeing—in Los Angeles.

Among the destinations they visited were Universal Studios and Grauman’s Chinese Theater, where Laura put her hands in the handprints of Twilight star Taylor Lautner.

“I think that was the best time of my life,” Laura said of the experience. “It was nothing but run, run and sightsee. We did as many fun things as we could.”

On the Figure It Out set, Laura said she was treated like a star. She happily received instructions from the producers on where to look for the camera and to repeat certain lines.

“It was a lot of fun,” she said. “I wasn’t really camera shy at all.”

But she did get a little star struck. The Neus were invited to the studio’s commissary for lunch, where Laura said she saw several actors from the hit show Glee. They also got a photo of Dr. Phil’s studio, which is filmed across the street from Figure it Out.

“It was kind of fun being a star for an entire day,” Laura said. “I think the saddest moment was when we had to leave.”

Until her episode airs, the teen is mum on whether she stumped the guest panel, which included Lulu Antariksa from the Nickelodeon show How to Rock and Ciera Bravo of Big Time Rush.

“I am so excited to see it,” she said.