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Big in
Bulgaria: Quiz-show success made freshman Yavor
Kostov -- and Pomona College -- well-known in his
homeland.
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Freshman Yavor Kostov '09 is just beginning at Pomona, but he is
already a big name back home in Bulgaria. ”I get recognized
in the street, whenever I ride in public transportation,” he
says. “I have given autographs on several occasions.”
Yavor Kostov appears on the Bulgarian quiz show.
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And it’s all because of a quiz show. In June, Kostov made it
to the very final question on the Bulgarian version of “Who
Wants to Be a Millionaire?” (There the show is called “Become Rich” and the top prize is $60,000.) He was
only the third Bulgarian to make it that far, and the
youngest at age 18.
This episode was devoted to graduating high-school seniors,
and Kostov had gone through a competitive screening process,
passing a series of quizzes before producers picked him.
Once on the show, he quickly excelled.
Kostov was on a roll, picking off question after question,
though they kept getting tougher. By using a process of
elimination, he managed to correctly field the question:
“Which ancient tribe still inhabits floating islands
on Lake Titicaca?” (answer: the Uros.) This
assured him $30,000 -- if he called it quits right there.
The multiple-choice quiz show allows contestants to take
their money and go home at any point. If they decide to go
on for bigger money, they risk most of what they’ve already
won if they get the answer wrong.
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The Bulgarian version of "Who Wants to Be a
Millionaire?" is called "Stani Bogat" ("Become Rich"). |
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Kostov decided to proceed to the 15th and final
question. It turned out to be a stumper. The host asked what
year the Latin abbreviation AUC refers to. Kostov chose 313 A.D., when Constantine issued an
edict ending persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. The correct
answer was 753 B.C., Rome’s legendary founding date. (AUC
stands for ab urbe condita, which is Latin for "from
the founding of the city.")
So Kostov went home with $1,700. “Some people said it was
very childish of me not to quit, that I was naïve,” he says.
Still, Kostov has no regrets about trying to reach the top,
and his friends and parents stand behind his decision. “They
support me and they think I did the right thing,” he says.
Kostov’s youth, his success on the show and his decision to
go all the way to the final question made for quite a buzz in the Bulgarian media.
He was interviewed in major newspapers, on TV and radio. One
Web log devoted to Kostov has more than 600 entries from
fans. “I think it’s funny,” he says of the publicity. “I
still can’t actually comprehend that they’re talking about
me.”
Kostov’s fame has helped make Pomona College known in the
Eastern European nation of about 8 million people. ”I
popularized Pomona,’’ he said. “Wherever I went I told
people about Pomona.”
Yavor Kostov, left, was only the third
Bulgarian to reach the final question. |
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Pomona economics professor Slavi Slavov, a native of
Bulgaria, was chatting with the driver as he rode in a cab
in a small town back in his homeland this summer. The driver
asked him about his work, and Slavov explained that he’s a
professor at a college in California. The driver was trying
to remember the college where the young contestant from “Who
Wants to Be a Millionaire?” was going. He said it started
with a “P.”
“Pomona College?,” asked Slavov.
”That’s it,” replied the cabbie.
"All of a sudden it's much easier to explain where I work,’’
says Slavov. “I just tell them I work at the place where the
guy from ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’” is studying. All
of a sudden everybody knows about Pomona College.”
Kostov found out about Pomona while talking to his counselor
at American College of Sofia, a prep school where Kostov was
president of the Friends of UNICEF Club. Previous graduates
of the school also have attended Pomona. Kostov made up his
mind to enroll here after finding out more about the College
from those Bulgarian students at Pomona through e-mail
conversations.
At Pomona, Kostov is considering majoring in physics,
politics or international relations and plans to return to
his homeland after graduating. By then, after four years studying at Pomona, Kostov may find himself poised
for a quiz-show comeback. Is there a Bulgarian version of
“Jeopardy?”
Related links:
Nova TV (the Bulgarian
network that airs the show)
Melissa Hanna '09 wins on ABC's "The Scholar"
Isaac
Silverman '06 appears on "The Price is Right"
The Pomona-Hollywood
connection
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