On October 6, 2001, Stanford student Vinita Kailasanath was one of 15 people aspiring to be the Jeopardy! College Tournament winner for this season. Less than 36 hours later, Kailasanath was victorious, taking home $50,000 and a new Volvo. Below is Kailasanath's first interview available on the Internet.
MK: Why did you try out for Jeopardy!? Did your family and/or friends encourage you to try out?
VK: I'd been interested in going on Jeopardy! during my junior year of college, since I thought that would be when I'd know the most. My friend noticed that they were doing a contestant search in Baltimore, and entered me online. Last year, at my dorm's end of the year banquet, I received the title 'Most Likely to win Jeopardy!'.
MK: Was being on Jeopardy! something you've aspired to do for some time? Have you been a Jeopardy! fan (or a fan of game shows in general) since you were in grade school?
VK: I was the captain of our "It's Academic" quiz bowl team that won the regional championship my senior year. I was also on Team Maryland, a 6-person statewide all-star academic team for three years, captain for 2 years. That team placed first in the nation twice (1998, 2000) and 3rd (1999). Those competitions, as well as geography bees, spelling bees and Science Bowl competitions seemed like natural precursors to appearing on Jeopardy! I really enjoy knowledge-based game shows.
MK: You're part of the Stanford's College Bowl team. How similar are College Bowl and "Jeopardy!"? How much did playing College Bowl help you with the Jeopardy! experience? How has Stanford's College Bowl team fared in the recent past?
VK: College Bowl is played in teams, although consultation isn't allowed on the initial toss-up questions. College Bowl questions are definitely longer and more difficult, and the games are often untimed. All of my academic experience and familiarity with using a buzzer certainly helped me in the college tournament. Last year, our College Bowl team finished 4th in the nation at the NAQT (National Academic Quiz Tournament) inter-collegiate Tournament.
MK: When you heard you were going to compete in the college championship, what was your immediate reaction?
VK: Actually, I was supposed to hear back from the Jeopardy! producers by the end of August, and when I didn't, thought that I hadn't been selected for the show. One day in mid-September, I was going to the gym to work out, and decided to stop by the post office to throw out my junk mail, and found an envelope from Jeopardy!. I thought it was a rejection letter, but it was the actual "Congratulations! You've been selected for College Jeopardy!" letter.
MK: How did you prepare for the show in the days/weeks before the tapings and do you think it helped in the long run? Did your College Bowl teammates and/or coaches assist you in your preparation?
VK: I didn't actually have much time to study because of activities (I'm vice chair of the Stanford Democrats, Publicity Director of The ASSU Speakers Bureau, play rugby, etc.) and human biology readings and problem sets and actually began on the Thursday before I left for L.A. on Friday. I looked over old lists of knowledge I had from high school and got an almanac and some Jeopardy! quiz books. My high school academic coaches gave me great advice, especially since one of them had beeon on Jeopardy!
MK: What was the most excruciating part of being on "Jeopardy!"?
VK: The worst part is when you know the answer as soon as the clue appears but you can't buzz in until the question is complete and a row of lights go on. This is the opposite of Quiz Bowl, where you can buzz in as soon as you know the answer.
MK: Your competition in the finals was formidable, especially in the first game. Did you have any feeling that you might not win the championship?
VK: As I played, I didn't really think about the tournament as a whole. I just focused on trying my best to get the next question right and hoped that things would work out well for me.
MK: Did the crowd, mostly made up of delegations from Pac-10 rivals USC and UCLA, have any impact on how you performed, especially since a USC student was in the finals?
VK: Actually, I played the UCLA contestant in the semi-finals and during the Jeopardy! round, the noise of the crowd cheering every time Jayce answered a question was a bit distracting.
MK: How has the reaction been in Palo Alto since you appeared on "Jeopardy!"? Are students, faculty and the general public coming up to you saying "Are you the person from Jeopardy!"?
VK: Yes, I appeared on the front page of my college newspaper, and so when I go around campus or Palo Alto, I get some strange looks and sometimes people recognize me, which is pretty exciting.
MK: Do you have any tips or suggestions for anyone who wants to be on Jeopardy! (i.e. buzzer strategy, at the tryouts, on the day of the taping, etc.)?
VK: I would just suggest staying calm yet focused. Don't expect to know the answer to every question; just try your best to get in on the ones you don't know. Don't get fazed if you're behind or don't like the categories. Things change very quickly in the game.
