A junior from Clarkdale, Arizona...

Vanamali Compton

What happened when you found out you were going to be a contestant?
Well, when I tried out... Actually, I got the letter that... saying that I could go try out right after we'd finished watching Jeopardy!, which is kind of fun. And I felt really confident after the try-outs, it was really fun, and so I was kind of hopeful, but I didn't want to get too excited about it. And then I was sitting on the bus one day, I had just gotten out of school, and my mom calls me on my cell phone, and she says "Oh, you got a FedEx package today, and it's from Jeopardy!" and I'm like, I just freaked out, I was trying not to scream on the bus, and it didn't work too well. I was saying, "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh," and everyone on the bus was staring at me. Then I ran the entire quarter-mile home with my 40-pound backback and opened the package up, and it was from Jeopardy! saying I'd been selected to be... as a contestant.

What are you most excited about today?
Um, well, meeting Alex will be very fun, but I just am... just excited about playing the game, and playing with all these great people I've gotten to meet in the past couple days, and having fun.

How did you prepare for today?
Everything! I went around asking all my friends for random trivia bits, like anything random. And... uh, tried to read all my Trivial Pursuit cards over... Read presidential books, atlases... Just, basically, everything I could get my hands on.

What will you do with the money you win?
Well, definitely college, because I'd like to go to music conservatory. Um, but, also, my school has a European spring trip every year, over spring break to France, Italy, places like that, and I'd really like to be able to go on that.

Where do you see yourself in ten years?
Ten years from now, I will hopefully be playing in an orchestra on flute, uh, maybe for a ballet or an opera. That would be very fun.

Do you have a particular role model?
As far as flute goes, I guess I'd have to say James Galway and Jean-Pierre Rampal. They are two of the most famous flutist ever to have lived, pretty much. And, I really respect them and wish I could play as well as they do.

2005 Teen Tournament quarterfinalist: $2,500.
16 at the time of the Teen Tournament.

Jeopardy! Message Board user name: Timpenin

Vanamali appeared in the following archived game:
#4698, aired 2005-01-26 Michael Braun vs. Vanamali Compton vs. Jimmy Li 2005 Teen Tournament quarterfinal game 1.

[player statistics]

The J! Archive is created by fans, for fans. Scraping, republication, monetization, and malicious use prohibited; this site may use cookies and collect identifying information. See terms. The Jeopardy! game show and all elements thereof, including but not limited to copyright and trademark thereto, are the property of Jeopardy Productions, Inc. and are protected under law. This website is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or operated by Jeopardy Productions, Inc. Join the discussion at JBoard.tv.