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Carmichael student competed on ‘Jeopardy!’ By Laura I. Winn

Jessica Rea has been watching “Jeopardy!” for as long as she can remember, but that doesn’t mean she always liked it. For the 25-year-old Carmichael student who competed on the June 19 episode, her earliest memories of the trivia show are of hating it. “I didn’t know any of the answers, but my parents did. It was boring,” she said. For years, Rea watched “Jeopardy!” with her parents, but she was really just waiting for it to end, so she could watch “Wheel of Fortune,” a show “where I actually had a chance,” she said. But by the time she was a student at Winston Churchill Middle School in Carmichael, Rea found that she could answer some of Alex Trebek’s clues, and the voracious reader started to enjoy the show. During her freshman year of high school at Mira Loma, Rea tested for the Teen Tournament and made it to the auditions round. After graduating from St. Francis High School in Sacramento, Rea tried again to get on the show, this time representing UCLA as a classics and history double major for the College Championship. She

made it to the live Los Angeles auditions, but wasn’t selected for the tournament. Rea continued to watch the show while finishing up her degree programs, including a post-baccalaureate in classics. From the comfort of her couch, Rea said she would think, “Hey, I’m pretty good at this. I should be on the show!” So Rea tested once more, this time for regular competition. And finally she made it through every step. “ Third time’s the charm, I guess,” laughed Rea. To prepare for her game, Rea practiced buzzing in with a clicky pen, but didn’t bother brushing up on any specific trivia because the show covers too many topics to zero in on any one, she said. Like

most contestants, however, she knew which categories she did not want to appear at the top of the game board: The Bible and what “Jeopardy!” itself sometimes calls, “ The Dreaded Opera Category.” When game day came, neither opera nor The Bible popped up, but Rea was unprepared for one that did–Frank Sinatra. She also quickly realized that practicing ringing in with a clicky pen is not the same as the electronic buzzer, which she had to mash hard to beat the triggers of her competitors. Rea said she was also surprised by how quickly the entire day went. Before she knew it, the game was back from its first commercial break and she was talking to Trebek about the dolls she has collected from around the world. Rea has traveled to over 30 countries with her family, who own Pacific Flooring Supply Company, a Sacramento-based business since 1952. By the end of the first round, Rea only had $1,200 and was in third place. “I knew so many answers, but I couldn’t ring in fast enough. But that’s how it is. Everyone knows all of the answers,” she said, echoing what past contestants have said.

During the Double Jeopardy round, Rea got a better handle on button mashing and landed in second place with $10,200. Only $800 separated first from third. When Trebek announced “20th Century American History” as the final category, Rea felt confident and and bet $8,500. But the clue “On Nov. 3, 1948 he sent a congratulatory telegram, then told reporters: I was just as surprised as you” tricked Rea and the returning champion, who both guessed Truman. Thomas E. Dewey, the surprise loser of the presidential race, was the correct choice. Despite feeling the final was a bit of a trick question and that the game had questions that were tougher than usual–a feeling many have shared with the classics scholar–Rea said she is proud of what she accomplished. “In the grand scheme of things, not many people have been on ‘Jeopardy!’ And I have.” As for her $2,000 second-place winnings, Rea, who would like to teach Latin, said while most of it will stay in savings, she might indulge in an impulse buy. When the mood strikes, she’ll buy “something special,” just because she can.

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