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November 2008 |
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MSU senior set for stint as ‘Jeopardy!’ contestant |
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Wednesday, 26 March 2008 |
By BRIAN HAWKINS
Starkville Daily News
“Jeopardy!” has been one of America’s most popular television game shows for more than two decades now, and one Mississippi State student with a deep love for the show will soon find himself as a contestant.
Joey Beachum, a senior political science major from Saltillo, was announced this week as one of 15 college and university students selected in a nationwide audition process to compete in the 2008 “Jeopardy!” College Championship.
Beachum will travel to the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison, Wisc., April 11 and 12 for the taping of two weeks worth of episodes at the campus’ Kohl Center.
For Beachum, the chance to compete on the hit game show is a life-long dream.
“I’ve been watching ‘Jeopardy!’ since I was a little kid. I was always planning to one day be a contestant on the show,” said Beachum on Tuesday.
“I’ve been interested in useless trivia since I was a kid and have wanted to be on ‘Jeopardy!’ since I was 8 years old, but I found out you had to be a certain age to be on the show.”
Beachum, who will graduate from MSU this spring, went to the game show’s Web site this past fall, where he found information on auditions for the College Championship and trivia tests.
In September, the show’s producers sent an e-mail for him to take an online trivia test, Beachum said.
“I took that 50-question test and I think I did pretty well. They never released my scores, but then I was invited to a regional audition for the show that took place in Nashville in November,” Beachum said.
“I get to Nashville and I’m auditioning with anywhere from 30 to 50 other college students. We had to do a 3-hour audition that included taking another 50-question test and a mock third-person game to see how you interact with the judges.”
After the audition, the show’s staff told him and other potential contestants that they would have to wait until this month to hear if they would be chosen to compete in the College Championship.
Beachum said he got the call last week.
“Just about everybody who has found out has told me ‘You have to say this or say that when you get on TV’,” he said. “My family is pretty excited. After the audition in November, my Mom bought me a ‘Jeopardy!’ DVD home game for Christmas.”
When he gets to Wisconsin for the taping, each player will appear in one of the five episodes being shot for the first week of shows to air the week of May 5.
The winner for each of these shows, along with the next four highest money earners, will go on to the semi-finals.
In the second of week of episodes airing the week of May 12, the nine semi-finalists will compete in three episodes for a place in the two-game final match that will air in the last two episodes on May 15 and 16.
Regardless of whether he makes it to the finals, Beachum is guaranteed to come home with some prize money.
The second place contestant in the Championship is guaranteed a minimum of $50,000, and the third place winner pockets a minimum of $25,000. Semi-finalists receive $10,000 and players eliminated in the first week receive $5,000.
And if he wins the whole thing? A $100,000 prize will be his for the taking.
“I can pay off my car payments whatever happens,” said Beachum, whose fiancee, Nicole, will join him for the tapings.
Beachum and his fiancee will fly to Madison at the show’s expense. His family —including his parents, David Beachum and Elaine Wilson — is also considering making the trip, which would be about a 12-hour drive, Beachum said.
In the meantime, Beachum says he is unsure how much he’ll try to prepare for the competition.
“I’m nervous that if I study too much, I might forget things I’ve already learned,” he said. “I’ve heard that Shakespeare is something that you need to know and that they have a lot of literature-related questions. I’m pretty well-rounded in a lot of areas, but I may need to brush up on Shakespeare.”
Beachum is the first MSU student to be selected to compete in the “Jeopardy!” College Championship and is one of three students from Southern universities to be selected for this year’s competition.
Though he’s a life-long fan of the show, what’s ironic for Beachum is that he has rarely been able to watch an episode of “Jeopardy!” for the past two to three years.
“I haven’t been able to watch an episode because the show is always on when I have class. I can never catch it,” Beachum said. “Maybe if I win, I’ll buy TiVO so I make sure I can watch it.”
Beachum is cadet lieutenant colonel in MSU’s Air Force ROTC Detachment 425 and also serves on the Dean’s Student Advisory Council for the MSU College of Arts and Sciences. He’s also been involved with the Mississippi Model Security Council and ROTC-related organizations.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 27 March 2008 )
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 |  |  |  |  | | Before our prayer of thanks for the big meal, each person
gets 2 kernels of corn. We pass around a small basket. As we each drop in the
kernels we share 2 things that we are thankful for during the past year. Later on
each person writes what they shared in our family journal and again on a plain white
cotton dish towel with a fabric pen. The dish towel is given as a gift to the
family who joined us that day to help them remember our celebration together and our
blessings from the Lord. - Linda Temme (Angola, IN)
After my husband and I moved away from Mississippi family
gatherings became more important than ever. We hold several traditions close to our
hearts. My cousin Susan (Good) Craig always makes the dressing. It was handed down
from my my Great - Grandmother Good. She used to say, " stand back kids - I gotta
stir the dressing." We still carry on this "stand back tradition" even though we
really don't know why we have to step back....My Dad, Johnny Upchurch
always fries the turkey and we all clamor to get the first sample.
Another tradition that my Mom, Nancie Upchurch, started is our annual "killer
dominos" game after the big meal. Even though the big meal is the main attraction
we never forgot all of our blessings and how much family means to each of us. Happy
Thanksgiving! - Robin Walters (Canton, GA) My sister & I cook everything for the entire family (parents,
neices, nephews, aunts, uncles & more). Our invitations always say something about
it's time to gather & give thanks for our bountiful blessings. It also says come,
enjoy and bring only your appetite. We use the china, crystal & silver - it's our
gift to our family. We are blessed! - Sharon Helms (Montgomery, AL)
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