UCF Student Advances to Semifinals on Famous TV Game Show ‘Jeopardy’ College Championship Competition
By Meredith Harris, UCF // April 10, 2018
Sage completed the game with $17,000
ABOVE VIDEO: The College Championship contestants make it look easy, but there’s much more to the game than meets the eye! Go inside the minds of the players with the Postgame Confessional after every game of the tournament!
ORLANDO, FLORIDA – Sophomore Hannah Sage won last night’s Jeopardy! College Championship competition against students from Stanford University and Rochester Institute of Technology, completing the game with $17,000.
Sage, along with 14 competitors from universities across the nation, has the opportunity to win a grand prize of $100,000 and a shot at the next Tournament of Champions game.
Representing one of only three public universities in the competition, Sage says she is thrilled to share her love for UCF on a national scale.
“I am incredibly excited to represent UCF on the Jeopardy! College Tournament, and I hope I did my fellow Knights proud,” she says.
“It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I couldn’t wait to share it with everyone when it aired.”
The Road to Jeopardy!
An avid quiz competitor, Sage prepared by participating on the UCF Quiz Bowl team, which travels around the state battling other college teams. The Manatee County student also attributes her time at UCF to helping her prepare for the academic rapid-fire of the quiz show. An honors student majoring in math and minoring in art history, Sage has developed a wide range of knowledge for the competition. The National Merit Scholar also participates in UCF programs that encourage academic excellence and help develop leadership skills.
“The honors program has helped me prepare by allowing me to have a great education and diving further in depth on topics that interest me — and helped me grow my passion for learning and trivia,” she says.
“LEAD Scholars has taught me about my own leadership style and given me my self-confidence to work toward my goal of being on Jeopardy!”
Sage’s Jeopardy! journey began with an online test. She was given 50 questions with 10 seconds to type each response. Her high score landed her an invitation to an audition in Atlanta. After passing a second test, Sage participated in a mock game show with other hopeful students. Finally, she had a short interview with producers and was told they would contact her if selected for a show.
She received a call inviting her to compete last fall during final exams.
What’s Next
Since filming began over spring break, Sage admited the hardest part of the experience was not being able to tell her friends the results. She looks forward to packing her friends into her room for a watch party for the semifinals, and hopefully receiving countless text messages from those watching from afar.
The College Championship consists of three rounds: a quarterfinal, a semifinal, and a two-day final event. If she wins the grand prize, Sage dreams of travel and further schooling. “I want to go to Italy to see all of the art in person, rather than the tiny photos in my textbooks,” says Sage. “Then I’d probably save a chunk of that for medical school — I want to be a dermatologist.”
Catch the semifinal episode, which will air the week of April 16 on ABC. Or find out what time and channel to watch it.
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