Who is Ana Peso?
If you’re a fan of Jeopardy!, you’ll find out on December 31 when the U of I alum appears on the iconic television game show to match her knowledge—and buzzer speed—against other contestants in a moment she’s dreamed about for years.
“I’ve always wanted to be on the show since I was a kid,” says Peso, 30, who holds three U of I degrees and is working on a fourth. “And then they called me.”
The show was actually filmed in September, meaning that Peso has been keeping the results secret for about three months. Her participation on the show is no secret, however, and word spread quickly amongst students and staff at Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook, Ill., where she works as a librarian.
“They did a little feature on our school webpage,” says Peso (AB ’05, history; MS ’07, library and information science; EDM ’10, educational psychology). “They have been really interested. So now I’m doing a Jeopardy! tournament at our school, because a lot of kids are asking about it...I feel sort of famous.”
To get on the show, Peso first took an online test in January 2011. A few months later the show called and asked her to come to an audition in Kansas City, where she took a written test and practiced with the buzzers.
Most stressful to Peso, the audition was also a personality test.
“I said a variety of things,” she recalls. “I said that I was a librarian and I’ve read all of the Hunger Games books and all of the Twilight books. And I said I wanted to get a Mustang if I won a bunch of money. Silly things like that.”
It worked. Of the 100,000 people who take the online test every season to get on the show, about 400 are selected, and Peso was one of them. The show called in August 2012 to invite her on, and a month later she flew to Culver City, Calif., for the taping.
Jeopardy! films five shows per day, Peso says, with contestants chosen randomly for their time slot. Peso was called her second day there. She had to do her own hair but attendants applied her makeup. Then, with her parents and boyfriend watching from the studio audience, she finally came before Alex Trebeck.
“You see him on TV and then he’s right in front of you. It’s kind of surreal,” Peso says. “I talked to him for a couple seconds at least, and he’s super nice. He answers questions from the audience during commercial breaks. He’s very quick and very professional.”
As for her performance, Peso still has to choose her words carefully for the next couple of weeks. But she can relay a little bit about what it’s like to have her wits tested before a national audience.
“I was very nervous and I just realized that everyone else is nervous, too,” she says. “So I just had to breathe, calm myself, and then once you’re on, it’s just amazing. It goes so fast. You get into this groove and you don’t even notice the cameras.”
Note: Since the publication of this story, Ana Peso appeared on Jeopardy! and placed a close third, with $5,400.
