Richland 2 principal is ‘Jeopardy!’ champion
Westwood High’s Redhawk Nation has something to cheer about.
That’s because Principal Cheryl Guy, who appeared on the game show “Jeopardy!,” won Thursday night’s final round, blowing away the competition with a question about religion: “Unlike newer Bibles, the King James Version usually translates pneuma hagion as this, which can lead to unnerving images.”
“What is Holy Ghost?” answered Guy, wagering $10,000 that would lead to her dethroning Zoey Orol, an attorney from New York, winning $20,600.
“When I saw that the category was religious terms, I knew I had it,” Guy said. “When I read the question, I thought the answer was either Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost and once I reread it, there was a clue in the last sentence that let me know it had to be ghost.”
She will return as champion for Friday’s show.
Guy – who joined a watch party with more than 100 friends, colleagues and close family Thursday night at Columbia Country Club in Blythewood – is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and has been in education for 31 years, according to her website. A lifelong fan of the show, Guy has auditioned on and off for 30 years.
“I struggled with the buzzer in the first part of the show and I got better,” she said. “I really hadn’t planned on having a viewing party, but I’m a member here. I thought maybe five people might come but I’m blown away by the turnout.”
Westwood students, faculty and staff have been showing their support for their principal, including a shout-out on the school’s website to encourage everyone to watch and cheer her on.
“The day I left to go to California, unbeknownst to me, they organized a send-off,” she said. “The student body had made signs, and the band drum line was playing the ‘Jeopardy!’ theme song. I cried. It really touched me.”
“This is a great lesson in perseverance,” she continued. “To have had a goal for 30 years, and to continue to strive for it and to not give up. I kept at it. I had a dream, and I never stopped working for it.”
With 23 million viewers each week, “Jeopardy!”’ is the top-rated quiz show on TV.
This story was originally published January 12, 2017 at 8:01 PM with the headline "Richland 2 principal is ‘Jeopardy!’ champion."