Staples Trivia for $500: This Staples senior will be on “The Jeopardy! Teen Tournament” this Tue. Feb. 5.
Answer: Who is Emily Greenberg?
Last fall, Greenberg was chosen from a pool of teenagers to participate in the 10-game “Jeopardy!” competition with 15 participants. To qualify, teens must pass a 50-question online test (and no, one can’t just Google the answers—only 15 seconds are allotted per question), as well as an in-person audition. And it seems, for Greenberg, that the third time’s the charm.
“This was actually the third time I tried out,” she said. “Once for Kid’s Week and twice for the Teen Tournament.”
When Greenberg confirmed a spot in the tournament last October, she and her father flew to Los Angeles to tape the show at Sony Pictures Studios. From there on out, Greenberg described the process as “crazy surreal.”
“We rehearsed Monday morning and afternoon, and there were Tuesday rehearsals as well, on stage, at the podiums with the real signaling devices,” Greenberg said. “It was pretty serious business.”
And it isn’t “Jeopardy!” without the idiosyncratic Alex Trebek. Unfortunately for Greenberg, though, he was “disappointingly scarce” until the competition actually started. Even once he showed up, “he made ‘witty’ commentary for the show, gave us some really awkward hugs and then left,” she said.
“He did tell me that he liked my name, though. His daughter’s name is Emily,” Greenberg said. “So that was equal parts cool and creepy.”
The Teen Tournament began airing Jan. 30, but Greenberg’s debut is on Tue., Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. on ABC. Her friends, suffice to say, are thrilled for her.
“I am so excited and really happy for her,” Amelia Green ’13 said. “She’s been talking about this since middle school, so it’s great to see it actually happening.”
For any Staples student interested in the tournament, Greenberg recommends sending her a Facebook inbox, picking up a New York Times crossword and reading, reading, reading—anytime, anywhere.
“Also, just watch regular adult ‘Jeopardy!’ It’s what I do, and it’s where I’ve picked up a ton of knowledge,” she said.
Although Greenberg isn’t at liberty to say if she advances past this Tuesday, the tournament runs through Feb. 12.
