2008 Woodie Awards
English prof newest Jeopardy star
Issue date: 3/22/06 Section: News
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Mary Fordham
Features Editor
In his two days of competition Dr. James Washick, associate professor of English, won $22,801. In the first game, which aired Friday, March 17 on ABC, he won $20,801 winning the game and moving on to another round. He rounded out the rest of his winnings during his second and final night on the game show, which aired Monday, March 20, winning an additional $2000.
To compete on the show potential contestants must pass a 50-question test, which contains the same questions used during an actual game of Jeopardy. In addition to the test they must also compete in a mock game of Jeopardy, as well as complete a brief personality interview. Potential contestants are then placed in a "pool," which remains active for up to one year. Not all interviewees who make it into the pool are guaranteed a place on the televised contest.
"They don't tell you how many you have to get right, but if you answer a certain percentage correct you go to the tryout or mock round where you actually play," said Washick. "Although you can pass the written exam, tryout and do fine in the mock round, it is still possible not to be picked for the show. The first time I tried out was February 2005 and I was called out to play. The taping was February 27 and 28 [of this year]."
"I was a member of quiz bowl and during my college years I started finding pieces of information interesting so I began looking up other information such as cock roaches can live anywhere from 14 days to one month without a head," said Washick. "So I just started accumulating information. My father once called me a vast warehouse of useless knowledge."
Washick has been a professor at North Greenville for the past five years and heads up the NGU Quiz Bowl team.
"When I was teaching at Lee University, I was the sponsor for the quiz bowl team up there and as a result I would write questions for competitions and read questions at the competitions. Sometimes I would actually play as well. All of those bits of information that I have collected over the years became useful to students and to me whenever I played," said Washick.
"I found I liked knowing things and over the years I've just become more knowledgeable about everything," said Washick. "I have a lot of breadth with few areas of depth."
"It is very surreal, sitting in the audience looking at the stage as other people are playing," said Washick. "My show was the last show on the first day so I watched four shows that day. You get to know the people you are playing with and then thirty minutes later you are playing against them. They were great people, I really liked them. The stage is much smaller than it seems on television."
Features Editor
In his two days of competition Dr. James Washick, associate professor of English, won $22,801. In the first game, which aired Friday, March 17 on ABC, he won $20,801 winning the game and moving on to another round. He rounded out the rest of his winnings during his second and final night on the game show, which aired Monday, March 20, winning an additional $2000.
To compete on the show potential contestants must pass a 50-question test, which contains the same questions used during an actual game of Jeopardy. In addition to the test they must also compete in a mock game of Jeopardy, as well as complete a brief personality interview. Potential contestants are then placed in a "pool," which remains active for up to one year. Not all interviewees who make it into the pool are guaranteed a place on the televised contest.
"They don't tell you how many you have to get right, but if you answer a certain percentage correct you go to the tryout or mock round where you actually play," said Washick. "Although you can pass the written exam, tryout and do fine in the mock round, it is still possible not to be picked for the show. The first time I tried out was February 2005 and I was called out to play. The taping was February 27 and 28 [of this year]."
"I was a member of quiz bowl and during my college years I started finding pieces of information interesting so I began looking up other information such as cock roaches can live anywhere from 14 days to one month without a head," said Washick. "So I just started accumulating information. My father once called me a vast warehouse of useless knowledge."
Washick has been a professor at North Greenville for the past five years and heads up the NGU Quiz Bowl team.
"When I was teaching at Lee University, I was the sponsor for the quiz bowl team up there and as a result I would write questions for competitions and read questions at the competitions. Sometimes I would actually play as well. All of those bits of information that I have collected over the years became useful to students and to me whenever I played," said Washick.
"I found I liked knowing things and over the years I've just become more knowledgeable about everything," said Washick. "I have a lot of breadth with few areas of depth."
"It is very surreal, sitting in the audience looking at the stage as other people are playing," said Washick. "My show was the last show on the first day so I watched four shows that day. You get to know the people you are playing with and then thirty minutes later you are playing against them. They were great people, I really liked them. The stage is much smaller than it seems on television."