Students

Senior Puts Memory in ‘Jeopardy’

“I have an innate inability to forget,” says Rochester senior Colin Brown ’06.

Such a talent comes in handy not just for class, but also helped the political science major from Milwaukie, Oregon, qualify for the 2005 Jeopardy! College Championship last fall.

Brown competed against 14 other students from colleges around the nation for the syndicated television quiz show’s grand prize of $100,000 and a specially designed trophy. In episodes that aired nationally from November 7 to 18, Brown lost in the first round but earned $5,000 for participating.

Brown says he’s been watching Jeopardy! for as long as he can remember—except not in Rochester, where he doesn’t have a television at school. But catching the series at home last summer, he saw promos for the annual college competition.

He applied and was called to audition, a process that included a test, a mock interview, and a round of competition.

Brown says he didn’t do any special last-minute studying or practice to prepare.

“It’s supposed to be a fun competition,” he says. “The main thing is to relax so I can enjoy the whole event.”

Each Jeopardy! contestant appeared in one of the first five episodes of the college competition. The winners, along with the next four highest money earners, went on to the semifinals. The nine semifinalists competed over three episodes for a place in the two-game final match.