Alex Trebek: This alum (’07) and current University of Pennsylvania student made it to the semifinals of the College Jeopardy Championships.

Trebek: Correct.

Siddharth, commonly known as “Sid,” dreamed of being on Jeopardy for as long as he could remember but did not imagine that his dream would materialize. Out of 10,000 people who took the online test, only 250 were called back for in person auditions, and out of that group, fifteen were chosen to be on the show.

“I had always wanted to be on the show […] and realized I always had a chance because I was able to answer most of the questions while watching the show,” he said. “The only thing is just the luck factor involved in actually getting the call to compete on the show.”

Sid will graduate from the University of Pennsylvania this spring and was thrilled to have made the semifinals of the College Jeopardy Championships. Although he won the first round of the contest, which was broadcasted on November 8, he lost in the finals, which aired the following week.

His experience at the Upper School helped foster his interest in trivia-related competitions. In high school, he was a part of the science bowl and quiz bowl teams, as one of the 15 to make the championship rounds, and gained the experience of being on television under the pressure.

“Those were my first forays into competitive trivia and gave me experience of having to answer trivia questions in pressure situations,” he said.

Sid won ten thousand dollars through the show. “I’m not yet sure what I will be doing with the money but I would like to travel around the country next summer.”

Though Sid did extensively prepare for the competition, he consistently kept learning new information for Quiz bowl anyway. He would watch each day’s Jeopardy, play Sporcle quizzes online, and research topics he was not familiar with, broadening his knowledge in preparation for the show. His family supported him throughout the entire process.

“My entire family are Jeopardy fans so when they found out I was on the show, they were ecstatic to come down to Los Angeles for the filming,” he said. “They were very proud […] because they always knew that I would be able to do it.”

For Sid, the biggest surprise of the show was how quick the taping goes.

“The whole taping of the episode went by in a blur because of the adrenaline,” he said. “I actually didn’t remember any specific questions until I watched the episode on television.”

To Sid, the highlight of the show was meeting all of the other contestants, who were very nice and easy to talk to.

“I still keep in touch with them, and we have our own private Facebook group where we just share stuff with each other,” Sid said.

Sid has high aspirations for the future. Having received a job in New York as a financial services consultant under a company called Oliver Wyman, Sid is excited to be working there after graduation. He is uncertain about whether or not he would try out for any other game shows because he claims that “none of them are as intellectual and fun as Jeopardy.”

Unexpectedly, the biggest challenge of the show was the timing of the buzzer.

“Even if you know the answer, you don’t get the points unless you’re the first one who buzzes in,” he said. “And if you buzz in too early, you get locked out for a little bit, so there is an art in timing the buzzer perfectly.”

Looking back on it, Sid is extremely glad for the experience and the opportunity.

“I was able to learn a lot of new things,” he said. “The main thing I learned is that there are smart people all over the country […] it doesn’t matter where you’re from or what your background is.”