" Introduction to Film": Pierce helps Troy with his "baby sneeze" and to stop wearing his high school letterman jacket. " Spanish 101": Troy's friendship with Abed starts, and they both appear in the show's first end tag performing the " Spanish Rap". " Pilot": Troy and the rest of the study group meet for the first time. He instead accepts a previous offer he got from Pierce and moves into his mansion with him. Troy tries to move in with Abed in his dorm room but is told by his friend that living together at this point would put too much of a strain on their friendship. At the end of the semester, his father kicks him out of the house to make room for his much younger girlfriend. An encounter with Jerry the janitor makes Troy aware of the exceptional repair man skills he possesses. When he helps Britta out at her dance recital it lays the seeds for future developments between them. He also spent the year oblivious to Annie's obvious school girl crush on him until he was made aware of it by Jeff and Britta. He also becomes more comfortable with college life and ditches his varsity jacket along with his jock mentality. Troy and Abed soon become fast friends and a full-blown bromance develops.
When Troy and the others later find Jeff depressed on the steps of the library, they all take pity on him and invite him back. When it's discovered that Jeff lied about being a Spanish tutor, the rest of the study group kicks him out. Troy (along with Pierce, Shirley and Annie), is asked by Abed to join Jeff and Britta in a Spanish study group. However, it's shown that he can be serious and mature when he needs to be (" Introduction to Finality"). He struggled to be viewed as an adult by the rest of the study group due to his juvenile antics with Abed. It is noted by Abed that Troy is extremely emotional, easily distracted, and is insecure about his level of intelligence (" Pillows and Blankets"). Despite his heroic and lovable traits, Troy has numerous insecurities and something of a childish personality. Troy cared deeply about his friends and has been willing to sacrifice himself for their sake on several occasions ( (" Epidemiology"), (" First Chang Dynasty")). The transformation was largely due to his mutually beneficial friendship with Abed, something Troy seemed to lack in his high school years. Eventually, Troy evolved from his original persona into an overly sensitive and goofy nerd.
Jeff implied that Troy wanted so badly to be liked that much of what he did was done just to appear a certain way to other people.
Personality Troy began the series as an arrogant, selfish jock who was so concerned with keeping his former High School status that he wore his letterman jacket for the first few days at Greendale. A news report suggests that while on the trip Troy and LeVar Burton were taken hostage by pirates. Troy accepted the challenge and said goodbye to his friends before he left on the boat with his childhood idol LeVar Burton. When his fellow study group member Pierce Hawthorne passed away, Troy was offered a chance to win his fortune by completing a sailing trip around the world. After graduating from college, he briefly re-enrolled some time later in order to discover who he was. Troy later admitted he chose the school because it was close to his house and because he saw a late night commercial for Greendale in which had a student giving a thumbs up sign in a "cool way." While at GCC he grew very close to a study group he joined, particularly Abed Nadir who became his best friend and Britta Perry whom he dated for a year. With few options for a higher education, he considered Greendale after being handed a promotional flyer by Ben Chang while at the frozen yogurt place. The night before a big game, which was attended by college recruiters, he intentionally injured himself (either by dislocating both of his shoulders or faking a knee injury as accounts vary) while doing a keg flip at a party. At the time, he had the interest of many elite universities but couldn't handle the pressure of other people's expectations.
His many admirers at school included his fellow classmate Annie Edison who would later join him at Greendale and eventually become his roommate. A popular figure at Riverside, Troy was the star quarterback of the football team and also the prom king. Troy Barnes is a graduate from both Riverside High School and Greendale Community College.