While sitting in her U.S. Military History Class before Thanksgiving, fourth-year College student Molley Jesse found herself faced with a Charlottesville television crew. The reason? Unbeknownst to her, Jesse had been selected to compete in a series of College Jeopardy! shows that will air in February.
"Shocked was pretty much the word," Jesse said, describing her reaction to the news.
Jesse auditioned on Grounds in October during Jeopardy!'s annual "College Championship," which is now in its 11th year. The University was chosen as a site for the Championship after the school finished in first place in Jeopardy!'s online game. Jesse was chosen after a rigorous selection process that considered about 900 hopefuls.
According to Jeopardy! promotions director Laine Sutten, knowledge of trivia is extremely important to the auditions, and contestants must be familiar with all categories of possible questions to be competitive.
"A lot of people think we provide contestants with the categories ahead of time," Sutten said. "We don't."
But poise and composure are just as important as knowledge of obscure facts, she said.
Being a "Jeopardy!" contestant "is nothing like yelling answers at your TV screen at home," she added.
During the auditions, finalists were required to demonstrate their ability to wait until they were called on to answer a question, to appear calm, to give their answers in the form of questions, and generally to appear to be enjoying themselves.
To what does Molley Jesse attribute her success?
"I don't read trivia books or anything," Jesse said. "I watch the news. I've always had a good memory. Random bits of information stick in my head."
She brushed off insinuations that she possesses unusual poise. Jokingly, she added, "I can attribute my success to [trivial facts learned from reading] People Magazine"
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