Naperville native and Northwestern University student Yejun Kim kept an upcoming appearance on a popular game show under wraps for months.
The secret is out now: Kim, a 2018 Waubonsie Valley High School graduate, is one of 36 college students competing in the upcoming “Jeopardy! National College Championship”, with a $250,000 grand prize on the line.
“It’s a huge relief to finally tell people what I was doing and telling people to watch,” said Kim, 22. Only close family and some of her instructors/professors knew.
Her quarterfinal appearance for the limited-run, primetime Jeopardy! special airs 7 p.m. Central Wednesday on ABC. Other episodes may follow for Kim depending on her performance.
More Top Picks Meat Thermometers
“I just never thought it would really happen,” Kim said.
Beginning Tuesday, 36 undergraduate college students will compete in a tournament-style form of episodes, with each episode airing two games. The 12 winners of the 12 quarterfinal games will move on to the semifinal round, with the three highest-earning semifinal winners moving on to the two-game championship.
The National College Champion will win a $250,000 grand prize, second place wins $100,000, third place wins $50,000, fourth place wins $35,000, the semifinalists win $20,000, and the remaining contestants will take home $10,000.
Kim is currently a Northwestern senior in chemical engineering. Pre-college, she attended Indian Prairie School District 204 schools.
Another contestant, Tulane University (Louisiana) student Fiona Hellerman, also has Illinois roots, as Hellerman is from Glenview.
Kim grew up watching game shows on TV and Jeopardy! was among her favorites. She stopped watching Jeopardy! in her teens and didn’t restart watching the game show until halfway through college.
Kim said she began getting emails in late 2020 that Jeopardy! was looking for college contestants. She and some friends decided to take the initial game show test for fun.
To her shock, Kim advanced to audition rounds/mock games via Zoom last January and February. “Radio silence” followed and continued for months, she said.
“I assumed it didn’t happen,” Kim said. “But then I got a call in September, which was such a long time after (the auditions) that I’d completely forgotten about it.”
– Original Credit:
Around Thanksgiving, Kim flew out to Los Angeles for the taping of her episode — or episodes. She did not disclose how she performed in the tournament.
“It’s been hard. It’s what everyone wants to know,” she said.
Kim and other contestants formed a group chat. She said they are looking forward to the episodes and relieved they can talk a bit more about their Jeopardy! experiences.
“They were all so smart and sweet and it made the experience that much cooler,” Kim said.
The Jeopardy! National College Championship episodes will air at 7 p.m. beginning Tuesday on ABC and will air Tuesdays through Fridays, with the championship episode airing Feb. 22. The episodes will stream the next day on Hulu.