A Port Isabel woman is now part of one of Netflix’s biggest game shows.

Julissa Schuster is #443 on Netflix’s “Squid Game: The Challenge,” a game show based on the award-winning series of the same name.

Schuster said that ever since the latest season of the game show premiered on Tuesday, she’s been hearing from just about everyone.

“I had to stay off my phone,” Schuster said. “You just have so many emotions on your mind so it’s so hard to take it all in.”

Schuster said she applied last summer and found out in January that she was one of the 456 participants chosen out of 200,000 applicants.

She flew to London in February to film the show, and was told she would need to set aside at least three weeks for filming.

“No cellphones, no laptops, no contact with anybody,” Schuster said. “The only thing you were allowed to take was a toothbrush and that was it”

While she said can’t share many details about the competition, Schuster said taking part in the Netflix show was the experience of a lifetime.

“Being in the game itself is just a feeling you can’t describe unless you’re actually in there,” Schuster said.

Schuster said the most surreal part of the entire experience has been watching the series with her family.

“Their reaction was just priceless,” Schuster said. “I know everything that happened, so just relieving those movements was scary, but it was special.”

The experience may be over, but Schuster said she hopes to keep representing the Rio Grande Valley.

“I have some big plans, so I hope this Valley girl does some big things,” Schuster said.

https://www.krgv.com/news/port-isabel-resident-competing-in-netflix-s-squid-game-the-challenge-/