There aren’t a lot of competitions you can train for at a pub.
But that’s exactly how environmental policy student Miles Tepper sharpened his trivia skills as he prepared to compete on the legendary quiz show Jeopardy! He took a little time away from final exams and projects to share about his experience ahead of the episode’s air date.
Catch him in action on Memorial Day, Monday, May 26!
Jeopardy! airs in the Monterey area at 7 p.m. on KSBW Channel 8.
How were you feeling in the days before competing on Jeopardy?
Nervous but excited! As many here at the Institute and elsewhere can attest, I’m a real dog about going to bar trivia nights. I felt pretty prepared to hold my own. I drove down to Los Angeles with my dad, so I also had him test me in the car by asking trivia questions. The whole thing felt pretty surreal the entire time, and the lead-up was no exception. I don’t think it really hit me that I was actually going to be on the show.
Were there any categories you hoped appeared (or didn’t appear)?
I specifically hoped to avoid biblical or overly scientific categories. I was really hoping I’d get baseball-related questions, world capitals, and movie trivia. The classic stuff that you see in normal bar trivia games tends to help me out a lot. But I also didn’t want it to be too easy, which of course it wasn’t.
Was there anything surprising about the process?
The most surprising part was actually getting picked to compete. I submitted my initial online test on a lark from a link I saw on LinkedIn or somewhere, and at no point did I actually think I was going to make it all the way through. Everyone on the Jeopardy! production team was so helpful and nice. The whole experience was pretty seamless.
How did it feel to compete? What was most memorable?
I felt nervous for sure! There wasn’t a lot of stress about the fact that I was on TV—doing trivia in front of a crowd was more fun than anything else—but it’s definitely tough to keep all your trivia knowledge in your brain with such quick recall needed. No spoilers, but there were definitely multiple moments where I knew the answer to questions I didn’t get. I just couldn’t get the answer from my brain to my mouth in time! I assume that’s a struggle that anyone who’s competed goes through.
At some point, although I’m not sure it will air, [the host] Ken said something to me that I didn’t quite hear, so I just laughed and said, “Yeah.” Still no idea what he said, but I think I deflected it expertly.
What advice would you give other students who hope to compete on Jeopardy!?
For people who are through the gauntlet of applying to get on, just have fun with it! The stakes are low and the experience is really fun, so don’t stress out about it too much and you’ll do better.
If it’s something you want to do, you probably know more than you think you do, so it’s worth taking the online quiz for sure. I never expected to make it through the process, so it could easily happen to you too! The last audition of the candidate process was a practice game and definitely a bit of a vibe check, so I guess just bring good vibes.
I recommend going to the Sovino Wine Bar trivia on Wednesday nights or the London Bridge Pub trivia on Tuesday nights for practice.
Also, as much as I loved the experience and the whole team at Jeopardy!, the green room food was a little underwhelming, so get a burrito or something before you get to the studio.
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