'A Dream Come True': Shrewsbury Woman Competes On 'Jeopardy!'

SHREWSBURY, MA — One local woman has fulfilled her lifelong dream of competing on "Jeopardy!"

In February, Shrewsbury resident Erin Howard flew out to Los Angeles to film an episode of the long-running trivia game show, "Jeopardy!", something she says has long been a goal of hers.

Howard has tried a handful of times to get on the show and said this was the third opportunity she'd had to reach the final round of auditions.

To get there, contestants must pass the online 50-question "Anytime Test," an audition and a mock game. After that, they get placed in a pool for 18 months, with a chance of being selected.

"This time, they called me," Howard told Patch. "I could hardly believe I got a text from one of the producers."

After that call, she had about five or six weeks to prepare for filming.

"I mean, there's only so much you can do to prepare, obviously, because it's such a wide branch of knowledge," Howard told Patch. "But, my whole life, I've been a huge reader.. I think that makes you good at trivia."

Howard told Patch that she used online resources to learn which subjects occur most often, downloaded geography apps to take quizzes on countries and capitals and learned all she could about topics like Shakespeare and opera.

When she arrived in Los Angeles, Howard was prepared to spend the next day filming. She said they typically record multiple episodes in a day, even telling contestants to bring a change of clothes in case they win multiple rounds.

After gathering with the other contestants, the producer said Jamie Ding, the man sitting next to Howard at the time, had already won five games the day before.

"[The producer] said, 'Now he's a six-time champion, and he's won over $160,000,'" Howard told Patch. "I watch the show a lot, and I know that not many people win that many games."

• Lawrenceville's Jamie Ding Is 'Jeopardy!' Royalty

Howard, who works as a community membership facilitator at Open Sky Community Services, started watching "Jeopardy!" with her father when it first returned with its modern version in the 1980s.

She said she's always loved trivia and been pretty good at it. And although a bit disappointed with how her game went, she said she felt better after her competitor, Ding, won 10 games in a row.

He has since joined an exclusive group of twenty or so "Jeopardy!" alums, known as the so-called Super Champions.

"Friends and family have reminded me that it's a big accomplishment to even get on the show because lots of people try to do it and aren't able to make it there," Howard told Patch. "It was kind of a dream come true, really, to get out there and be able to experience it.

The "Jeopardy!" episode Howard appeared in aired on Monday, Mar. 23.

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