Clemson student makes elite group of ‘Jeopardy!’ college contestants. When to watch her
A Clemson University junior was one of an elite group of 36 students from around the nation to compete in the Jeopardy! National College Championship.
Pauline Bisaccio, who went to Fort Mill High School, is studying biochemistry and psychology with plans to take a gap year after graduation to work as an EMT and study for the MCAT, the medical school exam.
She hopes to become a trauma surgeon.
Clemson University posted an interview with Bisaccio on Twitter in which she said her best advice for anyone who wants to be on college Jeopardy is to just go for it.
“I applied for this show on a whim because I got a random email about it one day my sophomore year,” she said.
She learned in September she had been chosen and flew to Los Angeles before Thanksgiving to tape the show.
Her episode airs Thursday, Feb. 10, at 8 p.m. on ABC and Hulu, when she will compete against Chance Persons, a physics and chemistry major at Creighton University, and Neha Seshadri, an economics major at Harvard. The winner will move on to semifinals, airing Feb. 17-18.
A champion, who will win $250,000, will be named Feb. 22. Second place gets $100,000, and third $50,000.
Four contestants have made it to the semifinals so far. They are from Stanford, Louisiana State, Brandeis and the University of Minnesota. One of those winners so far, Emmey Harris of the University of Minnesota, graduated from Dutch Fork High School in Irmo.
Bisaccio said, “The Clemson Academic Team helped me prepare for the speed of the game, and my classes really helped me prepare for the content of the game.”
She said she watched “Jeopardy!” to prepare.
Actress Mayim Bialik is the host of the college championship. Bialik also hosts nightly “Jeopardy!”, splitting the duty with winningest “Jeopardy!” champion Ken Jennings.
Bisaccio and Harris are not the first South Carolina residents to appear on a “Jeopardy!” show this year. Columbia lawyer Clark Dawson appeared on the show in January.