Carson City area native, CHS grad competes on 'Jeopardy' this Friday

A Carson City area native and Carson High School graduate is participating as a contestant on the iconic ABC program "Jeopardy," scheduled to air this Friday.

Rachel Lindgren, a CHS and University of Nevada, Reno graduate gave an interview with CarsonNow.org, lending a behind-the-scenes view of what it’s like to be on Jeopardy.

Rachel, 26, was raised in Carson City and Gardnerville and graduated from Carson High School in 2009. She took many advanced placement classes at CHS and went on to attend UNR for five years, ultimately achieving a dual degree in Biology and Forest Management and Ecology.

Currently living in Bend, Oregon, Rachel has been doing seasonal work with the U.S. Forest Service during the summer and is currently in a position at Mt. Bachelor for the winter.

In the future, Rachel is considering grad school. Maybe biology, geology or a mix of the two. She also hopes to get her pilot's license someday.

“Mostly for the enjoyment, but if I can make some money from it, that would be great,” she said.

Carson City residents can tune in to ABC's Northern Nevada affiliate KOLO Channel 8 to watch the show Friday, 7 p.m. Here's what Rachel could tell us about the show:

Have you always been a Jeopardy fan? How often do you watch the show?

I remember watching "Jeopardy" a few times when I was younger, and being horribly bored by it. I just didn’t know any of the answers. I really got interested in "Jeopardy" in college, while I was living with my aunt, and I found I actually knew quite a few of the answers. Since then, I’ve tried to watch it pretty regularly and now it’s rare that I miss an episode.

What made you decide to apply as a contestant?

I felt like I actually knew a majority of answers to the questions — questions to the answers? There’s no harm in trying to get on the show, so I just went for it!

What was the process like to be selected as a contestant?

The first stage is an online test. Anybody can take it. You just have to sign up for a time slot since they do it at the same time across the country. It’s 50 or so questions and you have a couple of seconds to type your response. They post the answers afterward, but you never actually find out how you do unless you’re contacted by Jeopardy. If that happens, you travel to your in-person audition. They host a couple auditions over a few days in whichever city you indicate as a preference.

I chose Seattle, and each audition has about 16 people in it. You do another written test, and then play a small mock-game to gauge how you’ll be on camera. This includes a short version of the contestant interviews done on the show.

Once that’s done, you have 18 months in which to wait for “The Call.” I got mine while I was at work this summer and I gotta say, it’s hard not to get excited when you pick up the phone and hear, “Hi, I’m so-and-so from Jeopardy!”

How did you keep your nerves?  Was it easy, or hard?  Did you worry you might forget everything you’ve ever known the moment lights come up?

I can’t explain it but somehow, even though it was a highly exciting situation — I found it all sort of calming. I went into it knowing that I COULD win. I got this far and you don’t make it onto the show unless you COULD win. I went through the morning of my taping trying to figure out how to maximize my chances of winning. During the actual taping experience, I got so in the zone that I barely thought about how I was feeling. I just went on autopilot.

I will say, though, that I noticed I was very tense physically, while doing the actual show. I didn’t really worry about forgetting things that I should know, I was more worried I’d get a bunch of terrible categories about stuff I definitely didn’t know — College Libraries and Supreme Court Justices, for instance.

They say the ability to win "Jeopardy" relies not on the fact of how much you know, but your ability to recall what you know instantly. Your take?

Certainly, instant recall is a huge part of doing well on "Jeopardy." Also, a massive component of success is buzzer timing. If you can’t beat these other people who also know all of this stuff on the buzzer, you’re gonna have a bad time. You also have to be very familiar with the format of the questions while reading them quickly to give yourself the maximum thinking time.

How was the staff, and crew? Did they make the experience comfortable and enjoyable? 

The staff and crew are awesome! Perhaps the most notable crew member is the contestant coordinator, Maggie Speak. She’s accurately named and is a very fun and high-energy lady, which is kind of important when you’re dealing with 15 nervous and probably sleep-deprived and awkward people. But really, they all seem like a great bunch of people and they’ve all been doing this for a long time and know how to help the contestants feel more comfortable.

How was it meeting Alex?  What’s he like?  What did he say? Does he spend good amount of time with the contestants?

It’s a thrilling experience to see Alex walk out onto the stage for the first time! You don’t get to spend much time with Alex besides the contestant interviews and the actual gameplay. He spends the commercial breaks answering questions from the audience. One lady, in all seriousness, asked Alex if he believed “in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” People will ask him anything! He’s also quite the wine aficionado.

How about the fellow contestants. Was it more of a competitive, or friendly atmosphere before the show?

It is typically more friendly! We’re all just happy to be there. On the morning of my taping there was a nice gal named Katie who’s going to school in Reno. She will be on next week. She really made an effort to start conversations and get everyone comfortable with each other.

I even felt comfortable talking to Gilbert, who was the current champion on my tape day. I think it’s important to be friendly with the other contestants, and even though I was playing against them I still found myself rooting for everyone else.

Is there anything you would like to add?

I guess I’d like to mention how tape day went. You get up pretty early and there’s a shuttle that takes you to the studio along with the other contestants who stayed in the two hotels that Jeopardy has a partnership with. You sign paperwork, go over the stories Alex may ask about, and they make a note of correct pronunciation of your name.

After an explanation of the rules by Maggie (the contestant coordinator), you go out onto the stage to record some promo spots and take a picture for the website.

You’re then ushered backstage for some final makeup touches and a random drawing for the two competitor spots. If you’re not selected to go, you get to sit in the audience and watch the game.

They tape two weeks’ worth of shows in two days — Tuesday and Wednesday. There’s about 15 minutes between each game, so it’s very fast-paced with about an hour lunch break between games three and four.

It’s exhausting, but I’d love to do it again!

Rachel is under NDA and cannot disclose if she won, or not. Tune in to KOLO Channel 8 at 7 p.m., on Friday to find out.