What happened when you found out you were going to be a contestant?
I tried out for Jeopardy! in Nashville, Tennessee, and after that try-out I felt pretty confident about how I'd done, but I really didn't think about it too much. And then, first week in October, my dad calls me, and he tells me, "There's something waiting for you at home"--or, "There's a surprise for you at home." And I didn't really know what it was, didn't think too much about it. When I got home, I saw the package. And I saw it was from Jeopardy! I tried to torture myself, and play if off cool. And I opened all my other mail first. Then I opened the package and I saw that I made it. And, it really didn't hit me. I was just like, "Wow, that's really cool." And then as I started talking to people, talking to my friends, and my mom told all my family, everybody got really excited about it.
What are you most excited about today?
I'm just excited about playing the game. Just getting out there and... getting some questions right.
If you had a "dream Jeopardy! category," what would it be?
My dream category would definitely be a TRACK & FIELD category.
How did you prepare for today?
To prepare? You mean for Jeopardy!? My friends made me answer everything they said in the form of a question. So if they said, "Oh, did you study for the test today?" They'd make me say, "What is yes?" That went on for about three weeks!
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
Ten years from now I hope to be living abroad, running my own security corporation. Probably Europe, or maybe Asia.
Do you have a particular role model?
My main role models probably have to be my parents, but also Larry Ellison, the CEO or Oracle, and Richard Branson, the CEO of Virgin. |
