Did people recognize you from your last appearance on the show?
People don't really recognize me anymore, but when I do tell them, they think it's really exciting.
How did you react when you found out about the Kids Week Reunion?
When I found out, uh, that I was going to be on the Kids Week Reunion, I was really excited, just, mostly to see all the people that I had met nine years ago.
What will you do with the money if you win this time?
If I win money on today's show, I'll probably be paying off my student loans.
Would you like to send a message to any of your friends?
Go Gators! |
"Everyone wants to be an astronaut when they're a kid, but not everyone grows up to be an archaeology major with postgrad plans of law school and human rights advocacy. Now a senior at Bryn Mawr..."
2008 Kids Week Reunion player (2008-09-15).
1999 Back-to-School Week winner: $12,001 + a trip for 4 to Universal Studios Florida.
Last name pronounced like "broo-SHAY".
Melanie's mother, Lynne Bruchet, won $9,601 as a Season 16 1-time champion.
Has it really been 9 years? Things have certainly changed since I was 11 and on Jeopardy! last time! I remember my grandfather calling the house to tell my mother that they were holding auditions for a parent-child special. He was a huge fan of the show, and always thought that we should try out. We had joked that together we would be an unstoppable team, and, lo and behold, here was the chance! How could we pass it up? Miami, here we come!
Once we auditioned (the hardest test I had ever taken at that point!), they told us that there weren't enough parents who were smart enough to be paired with their kids, so they would put us on our own show. I honestly forgot all about it until we got the letter in the mail a few months later, telling me that I would be appearing on Jeopardy! My mom cannot keep a secret to save her life, so she told me right away, even though I'm pretty sure it was supposed to be a surprise.
I guess I was expected to study, but how can you really prepare for this show? Sure, there are categories that come up all the time, but this was the very first Kids Tournament, so I had no idea what to expect. I think I only started to get nervous once we made it to L.A. Everyone involved in the show was so fantastic that it made the whole experience a real pleasure! Even though we only got a chance to hang out after it was all over, the other kids were great fun.
Once we got started, the taping went ridiculously quickly! It seemed like it took longer to film the promos than the game itself. I had a blast, and I hope everyone else did too. I bought my very first computer with part of my winnings (over 2 grand for a basic desktop! Ah, the days of our youth...) and put the rest in savings for college.
I always hoped that we would be back for a reunion show, if only to see where everyone ended up. And now, here we are!! It's great to see everyone again; not just the other contestants, but the Jeopardy! staff as well. I'm sure it'll be just as much fun as last time!
Kids Week Reunion
It's crazy that we can now say we've been on Jeopardy!... twice!! I had an absolute blast with the whole experience. It went just as quickly as it had before, but I think I appreciated it more this time around. The categories were fun and the people were awesome. I got to see awesome Glenn and groovy Maggie, not to mention Mr. Trebek himself. Everyone seemed genuinely glad to have us all back, which made the taping a breeze. I think we were all a bit more self-conscious than last time, as most young adults are. I know I certainly was! But I'm just so grateful to everyone involved for making it a great experience once again. Maybe we'll be back again in another 9 years. You never know! |
