The category: notable people.
The clue: this political science graduate student at the University of Alberta appeared on the beloved TV game show Jeopardy! on Friday.
The answer: who is Sam Papuha from Edmonton?
Papuha told 630 CHED Afternoons’ J’lyn Nye that her family was always big into TV game shows when she was growing up, from Family Feud to Wheel of Fortune and of course, Jeopardy!
FULL CONVERSATION: Jeopardy! contestant Sam Papuha on 630 CHED Afternoons with J’lyn Nye.
“As we watched Jeopardy!, I knew that I always wanted to be one of the people up there on the actual podiums answering the questions,” she said. “Of course it started off just being an armchair quarterback at home, playing along, yelling out the answers — basically trying to tell the contestants what I thought they should wager.
“And eventually I thought, ‘You know what? Maybe it’s my time to go for it.’”
Papuha said during the COVID-19 pandemic she took the Jeopardy Anytime Test — the first qualifying test in the audition, open to anyone — from her couch.
She got a call from producers, who put her through a second trivia test.
“After two more trivia tests and then a personality interview, they put me into a contestant pool,” Papuha recalled. “And I thought that was the TV equivalent of, you know, ‘Don’t call us, we’ll call you.'”
But at the end of September, she got a call back from a producer, inviting her to tape an episode over the U.S. Thanksgiving long weekend.
Papuha explained that the personality tests involved mock gameplay and answering fun questions.
“They have you do a mock game where you’re using a ballpoint pen over Zoom as your buzzer, and just seeing how you answer questions,” she explained. “Do you remember to say the category name? Do you remember to answer in the form of a question?
“And then the producer kind of steps in as a temporary host and asks you just some random questions to see how you respond. So, for example, what would you use the money for if you won? Or, do you have an interesting story you’d like to share with the group? And they’re basically just checking to see, what you would say during that little interview in the middle.”
Papuha said she didn’t do any preparation outside of her usual knowledge-obtaining hobbies.
“I really didn’t do anything special or out of the ordinary for myself to prepare. I’ve always been an avid reader, avid podcast listener, so I really just kept that up, and then just played along with regular airings of the show like I normally do. And I find that that’s the best way to keep your prep going.”
Papuha was up against 14-day champion Cris Pannullo and Holly Smith. She came in second and walked away with $3,000. She didn’t advance, but that doesn’t bother her much.
“It’s honestly fantastic,” she said. “Any time I have to introduce myself at a new gathering now, I think I have that fun fact to top all fun facts.”
Her favourite part of the experience was hanging out with other contestants.
“So while you’re waiting to film, they put you in a holding room,” she explained. “In our case, it was the Wheel of Fortune set with all of the other contestants that were filming around the same time. And of course, they take cellphones away from you, so you can’t share any details on social media.
“So during that time, you’re really just sitting around trading stories (and) laughing, and then they’ll start broadcasting the games they’re filming. So you really just end up playing along with a big room full of Jeopardy! nerds, which is probably the most fun bonding experience that I’ve had in a really long time.”
Papuha said going forward she will focus on finishing her PhD, continuing reading and going to local pub trivia nights. Pity any team that has to face off against hers.