Tufts Daily

Issue date: 10/9/07 Section: Features

Media Credit: Courtesy Nicole Morgan Morgan, a graduate student in the Department of Music, said she has become more confident around men since appearing on CW Television Network's "Beauty and the Geek."

Geeks are traditionally stereotyped as pocket-protector wearing, library-loving, graphing calculator enthusiasts. But for Nicole Morgan, a Tufts graduate student in the Department of Music, geekiness is in the eye of the beholder. Morgan has become the first female "geek" on "Beauty and the Geek," a reality show on the CW Television Network.

In past seasons of the show, intellectually challenged but gorgeous women paired off with intelligent yet socially inept men to compete for a $250,000 prize. This season, however, Morgan is paving the way for brainy women as she reverses the show's previous gender roles.

Morgan's unique educational interests are what initially attracted the show's producers, who found her through her MySpace.com profile before asking her to participate in the show. On the page, she emphasized her love of musicology and illustrated her general quirkiness through pictures and quotes.

"It just felt different from all the other [MySpace] sites," casting producer Allison Kaz said. "She lets people know up front who she is academically."

Asked if she considers herself a geek, Morgan said she sometimes has trouble with social interactions.

"I definitely have my moments of awkwardness," Morgan said. "I come across as very stiff when I first meet someone. I almost turn into a robot."

According to Kaz, the point of the show is to transcend these boundaries between "nerdy" behavior and healthy self-confidence.

"If the contestants don't learn, they aren't successful," Kaz said.

For Morgan, though, the word "nerd" is subjective to begin with. Rather than accepting common stereotypes portrayed in popular culture, she provided her own definition.

"[A nerd] is someone who is so focused on something that they are lacking in other aspects of their life," she said. She admitted that she has done this herself by neglecting certain social experiences, such as dating or going out to clubs, to pursue academics.

Participants on the show take part in a variety of tasks to test the beauties' intellect and the geeks' knowledge of pop culture. Morgan competed with the male nerds, while her male counterpart Sam, a party promoter and hair gel guru, joined the team of beautiful women.

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