2010-B College Championship quarterfinalist: $5,000 + a Nintendo Wii + the Wii Jeopardy! game.
Last name pronounced like "GAYJ-lin".
Steph Gagelin
University of North Dakota
November 12, 2010
I found out at the end of the day that my score wasn’t high enough to advance, which was disappointing, but the experience was nothing but positive. I met so many great people (hopefully lifelong friends!) and I got to meet Alex Trebek (which was so cool!!!!!). I keep thinking, how many people can say they’ve been on Jeopardy!? I’m so proud of myself for making it to the College Championship, especially being from such a small school in comparison to the others represented. It was an honor just to hold the signaling device, and although it didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to, I wouldn’t change a thing.
November 11, 2010
Finally, the taping day had come! We got on the bus in the morning, and Maggie briefed us on all the rules and how things would go during the day. All the other contestants seemed nice, but of course I was nervous because they were my competitors. We finally got to the studio and got our make-up done and went out onstage to do our hometown promos and other Jeopardy! promos. Seeing the stage for the first time was so intense. I couldn’t believe I was finally standing where Jeopardy! is taped! It looked much smaller in person, and there were lots of steps and different levels (which made me nervous since I’m very clumsy!). I feel like I came across silly in the promos, but everyone else was going through the same thing that I was, so it was an easy way to relate to the other contestants. After we did the promos, we went back to the green room and sat for a while, then did a rehearsal game. It was weird to finally walk onstage and sign my name in on the podium and use the signaling device. I needed a little while to get used to the buzzer, but then I got 4 or 5 clues in a row, and it made me less nervous, because I felt like I finally had gotten the hang of it.
After the rehearsal game, we were taken back to the green room, where we had to wait until our game was called. I was hoping that I would be chosen for one of the first games, but more and more people’s names were called before me. While we were waiting, we watched Monty Python, Old School, and Talladega Nights, which were all really funny but my nerves were still out of control. They had food for us but my stomach was so upset with nervousness that I could barely eat anything all day! After lunch in the green room, they let us do another rehearsal game to loosen up, and I felt better after that.
Finally, they called my name and said I would be going against Marshall from Arizona State and Tim from Nebraska. Now was the time! My stomach was in knots, but I was somehow peaceful at the same time. I got up to my podium, wrote in my name, and then the tape started to roll. I remember Alex saying that I was the first person to represent my school, which was nice of him to point out. The first round went well! I got the Daily Double on the category "Describe the Olympic Sport”. I think I wagered $1000 although it’s honestly all a blur. I answered correctly, and by the end of single Jeopardy! I was in the lead. When it came to the interview portion, Alex chose a completely different topic than I had rehearsed, which threw me off a little, but I think it turned out okay.
Double Jeopardy! came, and this is where I faltered a little. I buzzed in on a few clues that I wasn’t completely sure about, and I got them wrong, which cost me a couple thousand. Going into Final Jeopardy! I was in third place with $7000. When the time came to wager, I really only had one option: Bet it all. If I wanted a chance at winning or getting a wild card, I needed a high score, and that was the only way to get it. I was extremely nervous, because the category was "The 1930s”, not a time I’m particularly familiar with. Finally, the answer was revealed, and I was pretty sure that I knew it, but it almost seemed too easy…but I went with what I was thinking, and it turned out to be correct. I bet all but $1 and ended up in third place with $13,999. Overall, I wish I would have bet more on my Daily Double, and that I wouldn’t have rang in on the ones I wasn’t sure about.
November 5, 2010
Hello everyone! My name is Stephanie Gagelin, and I’m a sophomore at the University of North Dakota. I’m a Clinical Lab Science major, and I’m also a member of the Honors Program. In my spare time, I like to listen to music, watch movies, read, travel, sing, and bake. After graduation, I hope to get a job working in the lab at a big hospital, like the Mayo Clinic.
I’ve been watching Jeopardy! for as long as I can remember. My dad always had it on the TV when he came home from work, and as I got older, I could answer more questions correctly than my dad! I had always thought about trying out for Jeopardy!, but I never really took it seriously until my senior year of high school, when my math teacher suggested it to me. I happened to look at the Jeopardy! home page sometime in the fall of my freshman year of college, and signed up to take the online test. I almost forgot about taking the test, but luckily I had written it in my planner, and took the test while my roommate and her friend watched TV in the background. I remember feeling confident after the online test, but I didn’t think anything would come of it.
Then one day in May, I got an email inviting me to audition in person all the way in Chicago! My hometown is about 700 miles from Chicago, so I decided to buy a plane ticket and make a weekend of it with my mom. I flew on a Friday night, took the subway the next morning to the hotel where the audition would take place, and sat nervously for at least an hour before the audition started.
I went up to the conference room and met the other people who were trying out. We were all excited yet nervous, and I was glad to see that we were all in the same boat. After filling out an application, getting a Polaroid taken, and taking a written test, we moved into a mock round of Jeopardy! It was weird to hold the signaling device and to actually buzz in to answer a question, but after a little bit I wasn’t as nervous anymore. After we were done with the signaling device, we were told to put it down on the table, but clumsy me dropped it on the ground (which was only a little embarrassing). After a short interview, we were all done, and were given a Jeopardy! pen and water bottle, which said, "Are you thirsty for knowledge?” which I thought was awesome. We were told that we would only be contacted if we made it onto the show, so all I had left to do was wait.
September came, and I still hadn’t heard anything. I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn’t make it on the show. But one day, I had gone to the grocery store, and checked my voicemail when I got back, and it was Maggie from Jeopardy!, who wanted me to call her back. Immediately my heart started pounding, and it was only until halfway through the call that Maggie invited me to be a part of the College Championship. I could not believe that I had gotten on the show! I remember saying, "Are you serious?!?” and then jumping up and down and hugging my mom. Then I grabbed a pen and shakily wrote down the details of travel and such. After I got off the phone with Maggie, I immediately called my dad at work and told him the great news.
That leads me to now…just counting the days until I fly out to California to tape! It’s been so difficult to watch the days go by so slowly and to go about my daily life while I’m awaiting this amazing experience! I’ve been watching Jeopardy! every day (like always) and taking some online quizzes to help prepare, but mostly I’m trying to focus on my schoolwork and getting everything in order for the trip. I’m so excited to meet the other contestants and to finally play the game of Jeopardy! that I’ve wanted to play all my life. See you in California! |
