Hi!  My name is Katie Winter and I'm a senior at Tufts double majoring in English and American Studies.  I'm originally from Hershey, PA--site of the world's largest chocolate factory! 

The day before I flew out to the University of Wisconsin at Madison to film "Jeopardy!", I turned in my Senior Honors Thesis.  It's about the representation of the Japanese American internment experience in children's literature.  I'll be defending my thesis less than a week after I compete, so it's been a hectic month!

At Tufts, I am active in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.  Currently, I work as a Senior Admissions Intern. I helped to recruit the incoming Class of 2012!  I have been a tour guide since my freshman year, and I also write a blog for prospective students about undergraduate campus life.

I've interned at the Boston Children's Museum, studied abroad in Talloires, France, and served as an Executive Orientation Leader for freshmen.  I used to write and perform in Major: Undecided, Tufts' only sketch comedy group, and I've also been involved in Concert Board, Surf Club, and community service outreach through the Leonard Carmichael Society.

For the past few years, I've told people that my goal was to make it to "College Jeopardy!" I was half-joking and half-serious. On a whim, I took the online contestant test in the fall of my junior year. I never heard back from the game show, so I figured that I had one final year to qualify as an undergraduate student. Last October, I took the online test for the second time. Right before winter break, I received notification that I had been selected for an in-person audition. 

I auditioned at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York on a dreary afternoon in January. The night before my big day, my sister and I went to Mary's Fish Camp in the West Village for delicious lobster rolls and hot fudge sundaes. Lobster is my secret weapon: someone once told me that it takes a really long time for the protein to break down in your brain, so lobster enhances your academic performance. (Note: this may entirely be an old wives' tale.  I never took Biology in college.) I felt confident about my audition; most importantly, I thought that my personality had come across to the contestant coordinators.  In the cab ride after the audition, I called my parents and informed them that I thought I might make the Tournament.  Still, I knew the odds were less than one percent.

I received "the call" that I had made "Jeopardy!" on March 17, St. Patrick's Day. I'm part Irish, so maybe that had something to do with my luck!  When Contestant Executive Maggie Speak called me, it was 3 PM and I was in full-on slacker mode, lying on the sofa in my apartment, still wearing pajamas and watching a Lifetime Channel movie from 1993.  It was hardly my most scholastic or sophisticated moment.  

My cell phone started ringing from my bedroom.  I seriously entertained the idea of not answering it.  After all, it was Spring Break, and most of my friends were in far-flung tropical locales.  Why would anyone be calling me?  I peeled myself off the sofa and walked into the other room.  Hmm.  An unknown number from California.  I figured that it was a wrong number, but I decided to answer it.

Now, if you've ever met her, then you know that Maggie talks at a rapid-fire rate.  Initially, I misheard her and thought that she said that I hadn't made the cut for "College Jeopardy!"  I assumed she was about to tell me that they wanted to relegate me to the regular adult "Jeopardy!" contestant pool.

"...So, can you do it?" Maggie asked.  Suddenly, I realized that she was asking me to be in the College Tournament!  She prattled off some logistics and important phone numbers, which I illegibly scrawled on a pink Post-It in my excitement.  The entire conversation lasted less than four minutes.

As soon as I finished my phone call, I speed-dialed my father's office.
I did not spend a lot of time preparing for the competition.  As a college senior, time is a luxury of which I do not have enough!  I had to finish writing my thesis and keep submitting job applications. Still, I DVR'ed "Jeopardy!" twice a day and practiced my buzzer timing with a ballpoint pen.  Of course, I had to visit the Tufts bookstore and stock up on some new sweatshirts for my national TV debut!

Really, at the end of the day, the key to the game lies in operating the buzzer. I feel that "Jeopardy!" is a game of hand-eye coordination, strategy, and sheer luck.  I discovered the J! Archive online and occasionally perused it.  I also Google-mapped the city of Madison, WI to better acclimate myself to the surroundings.  Finally, I researched the best steakhouses and State Street restaurants!  Hopefully, I'll answer some questions correctly, make some money, and have a good time.

It's an honor to have been selected for "Jeopardy!" I am the first student from Tufts University that has ever been in the College Tournament, and I'm looking forward to representing the school that I love. I will graduate from Tufts a few days after the tournament airs. "College Jeopardy!" is a fitting way to cap off my collegiate experience.

And, if all else fails: at least I can say I met Alex Trebek.

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