Kohn, communications manager at the Federation of American Scientists, won $20,000 in her debut on the iconic game show, which aired in November. For the 25-year-old Philadelphian, who grew up watching Jeopardy! with her parents, the experience was a Daily Doubles worth of fun.
Q. When did you audition?
A. I got the call in February 2020, then two weeks later, they said, Scratch that. We dont know if youve heard about this global pandemic. They called again in 2021 and I was like, Hell, yeah.
That day I got to the Sony lot in LA by 7 a.m. Then they told everyone, We cant tell you why, but you have to go home. [Host] Mike Richards had just quit. So I finally recorded it in mid-September.
Q. How did you prepare?
A. I studied harder than I ever have. Theres an app with every Jeopardy! game on it that I would play every morning before work. The best way to study is just to play. You start to see a lot of patterns.
Q. What are your strengths?
A. I am the only person in the world who sees an Opera category and [thinks], Ive got that. US history is another strong suit of mine. I discovered that alcohol is not; I didnt do well on that category.
Q. Lets talk about Final Jeopardy!
插.泭The answer was: Introduced in 1964, he fell out of favor in changing times and in 1970 was marketed as a Land Adventurer. My high school teacher was very interested in the Vietnam era, so we spent a lot of time learning about the war. So I [immediately] thought: What happened in the 1970s? The Vietnam War. What would be a problem during that era in toys? GI Joe.
It turns out that the two middle-aged men on either side of me did not remember GI Joe at all.
Q. What happened in your second game?
A. I went up against a literature professor and someone with a PhD in Russian history and cultureand there was a Russian literature category. They were better at the buzzer than me. I thought: Does it matter? I already won once.
Q. Was it hard to keep your win a secret?
A. It wasnt difficult because I told the only person that matters. I called my parents and told my dad, I have to stay in LA over the weekend, then hung up. I let him figure out what that meant.
Q. Where did you watch your first episode when it aired?
A. At a bar in Columbia Heights. It was like a sporting eventpeople were cursing and yelling at my opponents, who I know now are very nice people.
Q. What are you going to do with your winnings?
A. [Host] Ken Jennings asked what I wanted to do with the money and I told him I was going to commission an oil painting of my dog, Abby. I wont break my promise to Ken.