Role Model - Randy Barry

How you know him: Randy was the cool, fun roommate on “The Real World: San Diego.” Now he tours colleges for STA Travel and is booked to speak at high schools and colleges through Reel Management. Randy is also an artist who does painting and photography.

Before Randy took the next step: Randy went to a high school that specialized in art education. For college, he went to The Art Institute of Boston and did security for night clubs. After graduation, Randy was plucked from thousands of applicants to live in “The Real World: San Diego” house with six other strangers, who had their lives taped to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real.

NSU: What was your high school like?
Randy: I went to a small private school. I was a boarding student, so it was a little different. It was like moving away at 16 and going to college. It was a unique experience, and I’m glad I did it. The school was about giving extra education in the arts… It’s what led me to go to an art college, The Art Institute of Boston.

NSU: You were known as the cool guy on “The Real World.” Were you the same in high school?
Randy: It was funny, my high school friends who know me and watched the show…they said I hadn’t changed much. A lot of times, the person you are in high school is the person you are forever. The biggest thing they noticed was that in high school, I wasn’t outgoing. When I worked in security at nightclubs, it forced me to be more outgoing. It was a good experience. That’s the nice thing about going to college—you get a lot of social education.

NSU: What was the dumbest rule in high school?
Randy: Because it was a boarding school, it was a non-smoking campus. I didn’t smoke, but a lot of my friends got kicked out for smoking off campus. If you got caught smoking so many times, you got kicked out. So many of my friends left that way, it was really sad. After living with someone for three years and they get kicked out for doing something legal, you’re mad. But it’s a private school, and rules are rules.

NSU: What was the worst thing you did to a sub or a teacher?
Randy: Because of the school’s size, most of the teachers lived there. If I ever pulled a prank, I’d see them at dinner. I couldn’t get away with much.

NSU: What minor rule did you always break?
Randy: I never went to bed when I was supposed to. I was always running around the place after the lights were out. We played pranks on each other; that’s all you do in boarding school: toilet paper fights, put a pail of water so when they opened the door, the full room would get flooded...

NSU: You never had major drama on the “The Real World.” How can students do the same?
Randy: The biggest thing to keep in mind in high school and college is the more patience you have, the more you can understand people. Patience and understanding go a long way.

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