Where do you see yourself in ten years?
In ten years, uh, I see myself working as an engineer. I want to work with the space program. Help design rockets. Uh, there's new generations of rockets that are being developed. Um, uh, y'know, I plan to go to grad school. I'm not sure how far I want to go, but, do mechanical engineering. I like the thermal fluids sort of propulsion research. Um, y'know I'm--I'm fascinated by all that's to do with space--space propulsion, rockets, all that stuff.
Who was the first person you told after you were chosen?
First person I told, I called my brother. Uh, he goes to the University of Texas. Um, I called him. He was really excited. I was too. We'd been talking about it a lot. Uh, second pers--second people, called my parents. And then, uh, y'know, kinda down the list of--of, uh, y'know, family, friends, all that.
How did you prepare for the show?
By--by not really preparing. Um, I-I prepared, um, thinking that my success had come from in the past. I thought, y'know, "There's no way I'm going to do well on this." Y'know, "Everybody else here is going to be way smarter." Um, and so I came in just with a--kind of a chill attitude, and, um, looked at it like, this, I'm happy to be here. Um, this is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing, y'know, uh, that, I figured I didn't want to narrow myself down by studying any one thing too much, so, I was hoping that my--my base would serve me well.
What would be your dream category?
My dream category! Um, I don't know, uh... In my--my Jeopardy! try-out they had a category called MYSTERY MEAT. Um, there was just a category all about meat that I ran top-to-bottom. Um, so, I don't know, something like that. So, y'know, COLLEGE FOOTBALL. Um, something about the Apollo missions. I'm not sure. Something that, uh, that I have a keen interest in, um, that I feel like I would have a unique perspective on.
Show your school spirit and tune in! |
2010-A College Championship quarterfinalist: $5,000.
Hometown: Madison, Alabama.
Will Warren Blog Entry 1
February 2, 2010
This whole thing started on a whim. This past summer, while I was at home for two weeks waiting for summer classes to start, my dad and I watched the 2009 Jeopardy! College Championships when he'd come home for his lunch break. After a day or two of me answering fairly well, my dad half-jokingly suggested that I try out. A few days later, I was thinking about it, and decided it might be fun to apply. I went on the Jeopardy! website, found the requirements and process for the college tournament, and signed up.
Months passed, and I got an email saying the online test would be on such-and-such a date at such-and-such a time. The test was right before my team's flag football game, so I went over to the apartment of some friends that were on the team, in order to use their faster, more reliable internet as well as carpool with them to the game. Having taken the exam, a message came on screen saying that if anything further was decided, that I would be notified.
Two weeks later, I received an email informing me of my selection to attend an audition in Atlanta on 4 October. The night before the audition, I stayed in a hotel across the street and woke up early the next morning to get there on time. Not wanting to fall back asleep for fear of missing anything, I showed up at the site over an hour and a half early. Luckily, there was a Starbucks adjacent to the conference room, so I ate breakfast and got supremely caffeinated. The audition itself was fun and relaxed, and the producers quickly putting us at ease. At my particular audition, there were students from all across the southeast, from as far west as Oklahoma and north as Virginia. After two hours or so, the process was over and we were told that we'd be notified in early December if we were selected.
The call came on a Thursday around 4:30 in the afternoon. I was walking out of a Publix in Tuscaloosa, and I got a call from a number I didn't recognize. I had to set the groceries down by my car to answer the phone, and the conversation went something like this:
"Hello?"
"Hi, is this Will Warren?"
"Yes."
"William C. Warren?"
"Yes, how can I help you?"
"Will, this is Maggie Speak from Jeopardy! How are you?"
"Ha, well I was doing fine, but now I'm fantastic!"
She gave me a few more details, told me congratulations again, and thus began an elated drive back to my apartment. Once I got upstairs and put all the groceries away, I began calling about two dozen people who I thought might be interested: brother, parents, friends, grandparents, minor acquaintances, etc.
The following week, I was able to convince the Student Government at our school to sponsor my sweatshirts to wear on the show. Because come on, I know that I'm on my way to fabulous prizes and immortal fame as a contestant on Jeopardy!, but I'm not about to pay $60 for a couple of sweatshirts if I don't have to.
I spent most of Christmas break preparing for the show: practicing buzzing in using episodes my parents had taped since I got the initial news, reading accounts online of others who'd been on Jeopardy!, reading websites full of question, working on growing a Trebekstache, etc. Before I knew it, Christmas and New Years had passed, and I was boarding a flight to sunny California. |
