State College native to appear on ‘Jeopardy!’

Alex Trebek is used to asking people questions he knows the answers to, but a State College native probably changed that when she went on the show.

Therese Jones, who competed on State High’s Quiz Bowl team, is a space policy analyst.

Trebek, she said, just had to ask her what that meant.

“I’m working on my dissertation about this,” Jones said. “A space policy analyst looks at how the government should regulate commercial human space.”

In addition to giving Trebek the scoop on space travel, Jones also knew many of the answers to his “Jeopardy!” questions. Her show will be aired Friday night.

She can’t give away results but said it came down to luck.

“It’s hard,” she said. “If you buzz in too early you get locked out, but it’s about timing and who can press it the fastest. You just have to hope your timing is good.”

Jones auditioned online for the show in April 2015 and then in person in July. They filmed the show in January.

She prepared for the show by figuring out what categories the show frequently uses.

The strategy didn’t pay off when the cameras turned on.

“I did study a bit by looking at past shows and learning about the most common categories,” Jones said. “That actually didn’t help me at all. None of the common categories came up, but I still knew a lot.”

Family, friends and a former mentor will watch the show and hope she got enough right to win.

“I can’t wait to watch her,” former Quiz Bowl adviser Julie Gittings said. “She was a star. Therese is an absolutely fabulous student, especially in sciences. She really loved State High and Penn State. She has always been so interested in learning everything she can. I have high hopes for her.”

This story was originally published March 1, 2016 at 6:40 PM with the headline "State College native to appear on ‘Jeopardy!’."