Swarthmore student competes in ‘Jeopardy! College Championship’
SWARTHMORE » Although she’s not at liberty yet to say how she fared on the show, Rebecca Rosenthal, a sophomore at Swarthmore College, competed in the “Jeopardy! College Championship” in Culver City, Calif., this spring. The College Championship tournament will air April 9-20 at 7 p.m. 6ABC. Rosenthal’s segment can be seen Thursday, April 12. Over the course of the two-week event, 15 of America’s sharpest students will vie for the $100,000 grand prize and a berth in the next edition of the Tournament of Champions.
Rosenthal hails from Ridgewood, N.J. She turned 20 years old on March 12, the day the show was taped. The only child of Rick Rosenthal, a retired computer programmer,and Dori Rosenthal, a Registered Nurse, she grew up watching “Jeopardy!”
“My family has been watching ‘Jeopardy!’ forever,” Rosenthal stated. “I always play along so I was really excited to have a chance to play it on air.”
She auditioned for a slot on the show three times before becoming a contestant. After taking an online test, she was invited to an in-person audition three times, once for regular “Jeopardy!” and the other two times for the college tournament. She auditioned in person twice in New York City, and the other time in Boston. Each time that she auditioned, she was required to take another written test, different than the one that she took online, and to play a live game with other contestant wannabees.
The third time was a charm for Rosenthal, when she was invited to come out to California for the “Jeopardy! College Championship.” The producers paid her travel and her hotel and gave her a stipend for meals and incidentals. Her parents accompanied her to the taping. The week was a busy one, with travel or taping every day, and only one day with free time. Because of her contract, she is unable to say if and what she won, or even tell what the questions and categories were. She only said that she was given a souvenir photo frame for the photo that they gave her of posing with show host Alex Trebek, whom she said was “very nice.”
“Alex Trebek is crazy good at what he does,” Rosenthal said, with a smile. “He is a lot funnier, too, than what you’d think he was. He joked around and made us feel comfortable because we were a little nervous. The show is a half of an hour but it seems like 30 seconds. It goes so quickly.”
Rosenthal has always been a high achiever. She graduated as valedictorian of her class at Bergen County Academy magnet school in the medical science program where she received the Principal’s Award for maintaining a 4.0 average. She was president of the Quiz Bowl club in high school and continued in Quiz Bowl in college. She also does outreach for Quiz Bowl at local high schools. At Swarthmore, she also is a writing tutor and costume designer. She chose to go to Swarthmore because she admired the students and faculty there.
“I love how focused everyone is here. I learn as much from the fellow students as I learn from the faculty,” she shared. “Everyone is so passionate and sincere about their goals and their interests. I really like that.”
Rosenthal, Class of 2020, is double majoring in the Classics and Art History. She hopes to teach or work in a museum someday.
Rosenthal competed against 13 other college champion contestants from Stanford University, Columbia, University of Oklahoma, Brown University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Vanderbilt University, Tufts University, Dartmouth College, University of Pennsylvania, Georgia Institute of Technology, Rochester Institute of Technology University of Chicago, University of Central Florida and Furman University.
On Thursday night when the show airs, Rosenthal said that she will hold a viewing party for friends in one of the classrooms at Swarthmore College. Back in her hometown of Ridgewood, her parents will hold a viewing party with their friends in their home.
“The whole experience was so scary, yet so fun,” Rosenthal said in an interview this week. “If I had the opportunity, I would go back and do it all again in a heartbeat. The other contestants were awesome. All of them were so smart and so cool. We are all still friends and remain in touch by talking in a group Snapchat. I think the experience was a positive one for all of us.”
“Jeopardy!, America’s Favorite Quiz Show®,” and its host, Alex Trebek, are in their 34th season in syndication. With 23 million viewers each week, “Jeopardy!” is the toprated quiz show on television, and has won several awards and distinctions over the course of its 30 plus years on the air, including the 2017 Emmy for Outstanding Game Show. The show, with its 34 Emmys, holds a Guinness World Records® record for the most Emmy® Awards won by a TV game show. The show is also the recipient of a 2011 Peabody Award. “Jeopardy!” is produced by Sony Pictures Television, a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company; it is distributed domestically by CBS Television Distribution and internationally by CBS Television International, both units of CBS Corp. For more information, visit Jeopardy. com.