Carolina junior competes on ‘Jeopardy!’

For years, when 7:30 p.m. 斯蒂芬妮·皮尔森的妈妈知道去哪里找她的女儿.

她的电视屏幕上闪着蓝色方块的光芒, 皮尔森的童年是和《太阳城娱乐》(Jeopardy)节目竞争度过的!” contestants from her home in Macon, Georgia.

“I watched it pretty religiously,” Pierson said. “我会确保把它从我的日程中清除.”

她第一次参加在线选手测试是在她10岁的时候, 虽然她从没想过会在节目中看到自己. 但她童年的梦想将会实现——第二次. 在2019年以高三学生的身份参加了该节目之后, the Tar Heel is returning to the stage.

皮尔森是卡罗莱纳大学历史系的大三学生，她正在参加《太阳城娱乐》节目!，这是该节目为期14天的高中同学会锦标赛的一部分, 这让27名前青少年选手有机会获得100美元奖金,000 prize and a spot in the Tournament of Champions. She won her first game on Feb. 22 to advance to the semifinals on March 6.

A lifelong fan

The daughter of a schoolteacher, 皮尔森成长在一个崇尚教育、鼓励好奇心的家庭. 皮尔森在小学五年级时参加了学校的智力竞赛碗(Quiz Bowl)，这个家庭的智力竞赛卡最终让位于正式的竞赛.

她的一个智力竞赛碗教练建议学生们看《太阳城娱乐》!” to practice. 皮尔森把这个建议牢记在心，并把这个节目作为她日常生活的一部分. 在她开始观看后不久，她就开始参加在线考试. 她试了五次之后，节目的制作人才打电话告诉她，她在青少年锦标赛中获得了一席之地.

Pierson在高中三年级的春天和她的妈妈去了加利福尼亚，这样Pierson就可以参加节目了. The episode she was in aired that summer.

“I had never been to California before, 我见到了来自全国各地的高中生. 这对我来说是一次很棒的经历。”皮尔森说. “I went on [“Jeopardy!”] just to have fun. I’m not really a super competitive person. I was just smiling the whole time.”

之后，皮尔森回到了梅肯的家，继续参加《太阳城娱乐》(Jeopardy)节目!坐在沙发上，兴奋地经历了她认为一生只有一次的机会.

Returning to the stage

Two years later, as a sophomore at Carolina, Pierson was studying abroad in Granada, Spain, when her mom called to tell her that “Jeopardy!” was trying to get back in touch. 几个月后，Pierson被邀请回到节目中，作为团聚比赛的一部分. Pierson was initially hesitant. She had already experienced it once, 现在，她必须在大学和准备前往加州进行为期四天的拍摄之间取得平衡.

Ultimately, she decided to go for it. 她的动力主要来自于有机会见到她在2019年比赛时遇到的人.

“我和和我一起上节目的人保持着联系，”她说. “我当时想，‘不管怎样，这都会是一次很好的经历.'”

斯蒂芬妮·皮尔逊(左一)录制了她在《太阳城娱乐》节目中的表演!” last month, and the episode will air this evening. (Photo courtesy Jeopardy!)

With a round of “Jeopardy!她已经掌握了自己的经验，所以她更清楚游戏会发生什么以及游戏的细微差别.

她说:“是的，这是一个琐事游戏，但它也是一种测试，看谁能先进来。. “这就是我从第一次工作中学到的:90%的时间, all three contestants know the answer. 当你在电视上喊出答案时，这是一种不同的体验. But on camera, you have to wait. 你要根据主人的声音把握时机，做好准备.”

Pierson flew to California to compete on “Jeopardy!” last month. 她从以前的经历中学到的知识有所帮助，但并没有让她今年的经历不那么伤脑筋. In fact, Pierson says she was more nervous this time.

她说:“从看电视到坐在驾驶座上真是太不一样了。. “It’s just a lot to keep track of. You have to look at the buzzer. 如果你猜对了一条线索，你必须选择下一条线索. 然后你必须考虑下注策略，‘哦，等等. I’m in XYZ place. I need more money.’ You have to be really quick on your feet.”

None of that dampened the experience, however. 皮尔森只是来玩的，这是她10岁时只能梦想的.

“It was 100% worth the experience,” she said. “The people you’re with make it so much fun. 我妈妈出来了，她能在现场看到我的表演真是一次很有意义的经历.”

For the past month, 皮尔逊一直对她的表演结果保密，甚至对大多数人都隐瞒了她参加节目的事实.

她说:“我对这部剧的播出感到很兴奋，因为在过去的三年里我改变了很多。. “I’m going to be watching the before and after.”