UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Central Pennsylvania residents and Penn Staters across the country who are fans of “Jeopardy!” will have someone to cheer for when they tune in to the popular game show on Monday, Dec. 6.
Hester Blum, Penn State professor of English, was one of the 15 contestants selected to compete in “Jeopardy!”’s first-ever Professors Tournament, which begins that evening and airs on consecutive nights until a champion is crowned on Friday, Dec. 17.
Blum first learned about the Professors Tournament from an elementary school friend with whom she had recently reconnected on social media during the pandemic. “He had just seen a call for professors to try out for this new ‘Jeopardy!’ tournament and said, ‘You should really check this out,’” she said.
Blum, a longtime fan of the show, decided to apply. In addition to being intrigued by the possibility of competing in a tournament with faculty from other colleges and universities, it gave her the chance to pursue an opportunity similar to one she didn’t take advantage of when she was younger.
“I applied and was invited to try out for ‘Jeopardy’s!’ Teen Tournament when I was in high school, but I did not want to miss basketball practice. This was the nerd’s version of a bad teen choice, not to try out for the quiz game,” she recalled.
After completing an initial 50-question, 15-minute test online, Blum was invited back to complete a similar test via Zoom under the watchful eyes of a “Jeopardy!” producer. “They do that to make sure the applicants are actually the ones answering the questions,” she said.
After making it through that round, she was invited to a virtual tryout with other applicants, during which the potential contestants were broken into groups of three to compete in an abbreviated mock version of the game.
The Professors Tournament was taped Oct. 25 and 26 on the Alex Trebek Stage at the Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California. For Blum, one of the best aspects of the entire experience was the chance to meet and get to know colleagues from other institutions.
“Whether they did it intentionally or not, the ‘Jeopardy!’ producers did a wonderful job of inviting professors representing every type of higher education institution,” Blum said. “Community colleges, liberal arts schools, technical schools, HBCUs, Research One institutions — it was great to have the public face of professorship represented in this way. Plus, it was just a smart, energetic and fun group of people to be around.”
Something that Blum said she wasn’t quite prepared for was the adrenaline rush that she felt while competing. “As someone who enjoys public speaking and is used to being in front of groups of people, I would say I’m someone who doesn’t get stage fright. But when I was behind that podium during the taping, I got so worked up that after the game I had this massive blood pressure spike and ended up at Cedars-Sinai Hospital," she said.
“I was fine, though, and it certainly didn’t take anything away from the experience.”
Blum’s “Jeopardy!” Dec. 6 appearance will air locally at 7 p.m. on WATM-TV. Those living outside the area should check local listings for the appropriate time and station.