2009 College Championship second runner-up: $29,900.
22 and from Richmond, Virginia at the time of the College Championship.
Laura Myers Blog Entry 4
August 18, 2009
The Finals
Eric, Patrick and I ate lunch together as finalists on producer’s orders. After one 10-hour day, followed by a second early morning and what was possibly the greatest shock of our lives, I know I at least was completely punch-drunk and loopy. My mental state was one where anything was funny; someone could have come up to me and said “Tree,” and I probably would have laughed until I cried. During our final rehearsal we decided to have some fun with Glenn, who was our rehearsal host. Instead of writing down our own names, we all adopted aliases. I was Madonna and Patrick, Rumpelstiltskin. Eric, just to make things confusing, decided to be “Laura.” Obviously, extreme exhaustion plus silly names did not make for the most productive rehearsal for me.
Making the finals was something I never expected. Being so overwhelmed and tired, I couldn’t help but to just take everything in and have a good time. Hence, the winking when I was introduced in the first part of the final; why not have fun with it? It’s also why I pulled up the “Mizzou” on my sweatshirt when I was introduced on the second episode. I figured making the finale of College Jeopardy! would be the closest I’d ever get to scoring the winning jumper for Mizzou basketball as the final buzzer sounded, so I should probably celebrate as if I did. When Alex asked me in the final game why I seemed to be having such a good time, it’s because I probably was. I was so happy and in such disbelief that I was in the final that I couldn’t help it. No matter the outcome, I’d already done more than I expected to achieve.
The final games, as a whole, went by even faster than all the others. Being behind in each game, I knew that I likely going to be in third place. With that reasoning, I wagered enough to try to win more than the minimum $25,000. I did, and I’m thrilled about it. To be fair, I did have a paralyzing moment when I heard that Eric didn’t get the Final Jeopardy! question correct - I had this intense fear that somehow I managed to pull out a win again. (The reason this would be so bad? I’d have to film more promos.)
I honestly couldn’t be happier with coming in third place. I’m absolutely thrilled for Patrick, and winning couldn’t have happened to a funnier, more down-to-earth guy. I had a great time with Patrick and Eric that afternoon, and I hope that they can say the same. The whole Finals experience was mind-blowing and something I will never forget…and if I do, I can always look at my bank account and see $29,900 that wasn’t there before.
Afterthoughts
Now that the entire Jeopardy experience is over and I’m back home, I’ve only begun to digest it all. It’s been killer not to tell my friends back at Mizzou. Not because I want to shout from the rooftops that I won almost $30,000—do you know how many drinks I’d have to buy if my friends knew?—but because I’ve wanted to share every funny story and moment with them. I mean, Alex Trebek made fun of me winking, and I can only talk about it to my mom, dad and brother? It’s tough.
Since I got back home, there have been lots of questions. Luckily, my friends aren’t very good interrogators, so they didn’t figure it all out. (Plus, I like to think I’m slightly mysterious, even though I know it to be completely false.) Everyone wants to know what Alex is like, how I got on the show and what advice I would have. To go ahead and answer those questions once and for all, I made a list:
1. Alex Trebek is exactly what you imagine him to be like. If you like him on TV, you’ll like him in person; if you don’t like him on TV, you probably won’t in real life either.
2. I got on the show through an online test, an in-person interview and my winning (ha!) personality. If you get called to an audition, have energy and try to stand out, but the most important thing is to be yourself. There’s no way to handle faking it with the stress of the show.
3. No, I couldn’t have told you what happened. When you come on the show, you sign so many forms that it becomes quickly apparent that the best course of action is to stay quiet.
4. The buzzers are finicky, and the best way to practice is probably to click a pen at home and play video games.
5. I would absolutely do it all again. Minus the winking. And the saying I like Sidney Crosby on national television. Those things are kind of embarrassing in retrospect.
Life after Jeopardy! will definitely be less stressful. One of my biggest concerns was figuring out how to afford living in New York during my internship after graduation, so knowing I have nearly $30,000 to fall back on is comforting. That is, of course, considering that I don’t blow it all on Fifth Avenue and Topshop…not that I’d ever do that, Mom and Dad…
Really, my takeaway from Jeopardy! is that I had an experience that could never be duplicated. To the producers, staff and crew of Jeopardy!, I want to say thank you for giving me the opportunity and making it all go smoothly. I really appreciate it. To my fellow contestants, all fifteen of you, thank you for being welcoming and friendly. It made the week less stressful, and you all deserve nothing but good things to come. And finally, to any magazine publishers, NHL teams and the good people at Jeopardy!: Call me. I graduate mid-May and would love a job.
Laura Myers Blog Entry 3
August 15, 2009
The Semi-Final Game…
When I played in the quarterfinal game, I was nervous. When I got on stage for my semifinal game, I was terrified. I wondered who had won the game before me, and although I was sure I wouldn’t win, I knew I could still easily embarrass myself on an even bigger platform. With that in mind, I buckled down and tried to have as much fun as I could.
As a girl playing Jeopardy! with two guys, I think I did have some disadvantage. I’m guessing that the average guy spends more time playing video games than I do, so when Scott and Greg rang in for the same clue as me, they probably got in first. That, and the categories admittedly did not fall in my favor. Along with math, science and religion form an unholy trinity of “Categories I Don’t Want to See on Jeopardy!”
With all that in mind, I wasn’t surprised that I was pretty far behind when Final Jeopardy! again rolled around. I wrote down a wager with little thought behind it because I had no idea what “Word of Inspiration” could be. But when the clue about a dying professor’s best-selling book popped up onscreen, I was pretty sure I knew it. Then sure—“The Last Lecture.” Or was it “The Final Lecture”? As the final tones of the thinking jingle rang out, I decided to stick with “Last Lecture” because, hey, who doesn’t like alliteration in a title?
Needless to say, I was glad I stuck with my original answer. I wagered enough, and as the only contestant to get the question right, I won. Somehow, I won. When I saw that Greg, who was in first place, had gotten the question wrong, it crossed my mind that I could be the winner. When I saw the wager, the feeling I had? I imagine it’s what a heart attack feels like. I was the goofy girl who could hardly keep from giggling during the show, and all I could think was, “How did THAT happen?” When Alex announced me as the winner, it was the only time in my life that I have been truly speechless.
Laura Myers Blog Entry 2
May 13, 2009
The Semi-Final Game…
When I played in the quarterfinal game, I was nervous. When I got on stage for my semifinal game, I was terrified. I wondered who had won the game before me, and although I was sure I wouldn’t win, I knew I could still easily embarrass myself on an even bigger platform. With that in mind, I buckled down and tried to have as much fun as I could.
As a girl playing Jeopardy! with two guys, I think I did have some disadvantage. I’m guessing that the average guy spends more time playing video games than I do, so when Scott and Greg rang in for the same clue as me, they probably got in first. That, and the categories admittedly did not fall in my favor. Along with math, science and religion form an unholy trinity of “Categories I Don’t Want to See on Jeopardy!”
With all that in mind, I wasn’t surprised that I was pretty far behind when Final Jeopardy! again rolled around. I wrote down a wager with little thought behind it because I had no idea what “Word of Inspiration” could be. But when the clue about a dying professor’s best-selling book popped up onscreen, I was pretty sure I knew it. Then sure—“The Last Lecture.” Or was it “The Final Lecture”? As the final tones of the thinking jingle rang out, I decided to stick with “Last Lecture” because, hey, who doesn’t like alliteration in a title?
Needless to say, I was glad I stuck with my original answer. I wagered enough, and as the only contestant to get the question right, I won. Somehow, I won. When I saw that Greg, who was in first place, had gotten the question wrong, it crossed my mind that I could be the winner. When I saw the wager, the feeling I had? I imagine it’s what a heart attack feels like. I was the goofy girl who could hardly keep from giggling during the show, and all I could think was, “How did THAT happen?” When Alex announced me as the winner, it was the only time in my life that I have been truly speechless.
Laura Myers Blog Entry 1
May 4, 2009
I was in the most glamorous of places when I found out I was going to be on Jeopardy!: a Walgreen's parking lot in Blue Springs, Mo. My roommate Rachel and I were running errands before our spring break flights the next day when I realized that I had a voicemail. I expected it was going to be my mom calling to confirm for the fourth or fifth what time I my flight was arriving, so when the voice said, "Hi, Laura, this is Glen calling from Jeopardy!…," I was shocked. I called him back, and ten minutes later it was official—I was going to be representing the University of Missouri on College Jeopardy!
You could say my road to Jeopardy! has been a long one. I've always been a big reader, picking up bits of knowledge from everything I encountered. After the big holiday meal at family gatherings, someone would inevitably roll out Trivial Pursuit for a marathon match. Everyone was so competitive that you quickly learned or were left behind. By my senior year of high school, classmates in my government class insisted that I be in charge of asking, rather than answering, the questions in our daily "Smartest Kid in the Class" trivia game. (Needless to say, I might have been the "smartest" in the class, but I was nowhere near the most popular.)
So when my older brother suggested that I take the College Championship online qualifying test in October, I thought, "Why not?" I'd always watched Jeopardy! when I could, and if nothing else it would be entertaining. I didn't think the online test was too difficult (though I will now always remember that Breaking Dawn is the final book in the Twilight series), but I figured that was that.
When I got the call to audition live in Chicago, I was excited both to audition and to get a weekend away with a couple of friends. The audition was a bit nerve-wracking, but I was proud of myself that my confidence grew as the session went on. If anything, I felt like I might have been having too much of a good time. When producers asked me what I would do if I won $100,000, I didn't say that I would travel, buy a car or pay for grad school, all of which were common and responsible answers. I would likely save most of it, but I gave the honest truth: The first thing I'd do with $100,000 would be to buy a pair of expensive shoes.
As November became December, I started to forget about Jeopardy! a bit. After all, I knew that if I were to be on the show, I wouldn't find out until March. In January I began my final semester of college, and the duties and responsibilities that came with it definitely preoccupied my time. March rolled around, and I started getting anxious and checking my email compulsively, wishing that I would see "Congratulations!" or "Jeopardy!" in the subject line. By the third week, I had given up hope, so that when I did get the call, the moment was even sweeter.
Since I found out, it's been a whirlwind of telling all my friends and family and making preparations to come to Los Angeles. Classes have stopped me from studying too much, but I have prepared for Jeopardy! some. I've been watching the show when I can, practicing ringing in with a pen in hand. My friends Kim and Bryce found a Jeopardy! board game from 1986, so we've played that a few times. Really though, the whole time has been marked by the stress of trying to juggling school, imminent graduation, work and Jeopardy! prep. If nothing else, I'm glad to be here so I can turn off some of the worry.
Oddly enough, the most common question I've been getting about appearing on Jeopardy! has been "What kind of sweatshirt are you going to wear?" Even my friend serving in the Peace Corps in Thailand asked me what I was going to wear, which was slightly mind-blowing. Whether I go with hoodie or crewneck, black or gold…well, everyone will just have to wait and see.
Arriving in Los Angeles and First Impressions
There are many iconic L.A. landmarks: the Hollywood sign, Dodger Stadium, Grauman's Chinese Theatre. For me, it only hit me that I was in Los Angeles to appear on Jeopardy! when I looked out my hotel window at the palm tree-lined street and saw the hillside houses glittered in the California sunshine—definitely an upgrade from the rainy Missouri weather I had left behind. I tried to keep the fact that I would be competing for a chance to win $100,000 out of my mind, but it inevitably crept in as I saw other contestants milling about the hotel with college sweatshirts and bags. In the midst of freaking out, I remembered that I should only worry about things I can control. So I got to sleep early the night before taping because if nothing else, I could make sure that I looked alive for the cameras the next day.
I finally met all my competitors in the lobby as we waited to take the van to Sony studios. As everyone chatted with (or sized up?) one another, I couldn't help but feel like it was freshman year all over again. Hearing questions of "Where are you from?" and "What's your major?" I half-expected to hear a "Want to go to the dining hall for lunch?" or a "Can we walk to class together?" And with that freshman flashback, the nervousness of my first semester began to come back, too. Luckily, everyone was pretty chatty, which helped considerably because I can be admittedly awkward, especially when meeting new people. All of the other contestants were super friendly, but I have to say that I definitely had the most in common with my fellow state-school contestants.
Once we arrived on set, we immediately hit the make-up chair. Getting my make-up done was incredibly relaxing; what girl doesn't like hearing that's she's pretty and then looking in the mirror to see perfect skin and eyes that pop? But whatever calm I achieved again dissipated when we went to film the interviews and promos. I understand the point of the promos, but they inevitably made me feel like the biggest idiot in the world—not the best feeling to have before participating in a question-and-answer game show. If the promos seem cheesy on television, you can only imagine how you feel as the star of them. My inability to recite a simple line ("Watch me here on KMIZ-Channel 10!") did not, in my mind, bode well for the game to come.
After promos, we all stayed on set to do rehearsal games and finally get our shot at the signaling button. Just stepping behind the lectern and taking the signaler in my hand felt like an electric shock, a minor one like touching the edge of an opening in a game of Operation. The buzzer definitely can be as finicky as everyone says it is. You have to time it just right. Ring in before the clue board lights turn on, and you're locked out; ring in too late, and a competitor has already answered the question and moved on to the next. The best advice I have for anyone who is going to be on Jeopardy! is to play video games to practice hitting buttons on your pure reflexes.
As we cycled in and out of the rehearsal games, it all became more comfortable. The bright lights and buzzers, cameras and clue board all felt normal. And before we knew it, it was back into the green room—it was time to play Jeopardy!, this time for real. |
