‘What is Jeopardy!?’

Liberty alumna competes on popular game show’s ‘Tournament of Champions’

Liberty University alumna Catherine Hardee returned to trivia game show “Jeopardy!” for the “Tournament of Champions,” winning the quarterfinal round Monday, Nov. 9 before being eliminated in the semifinals Wednesday, Nov. 18.

Champ — Alumna Catherine Hardee made her second appearence on the nightly game show “Jeopardy!,” winning more than $25,000.  Photo provided

Champ — Alumna Catherine Hardee made her second appearence on the nightly game show “Jeopardy!,” winning more than $25,000. Photo provided

In September, Hardee went on a four game winning streak that earned her a total of $95,201. This performance placed her in the top 15 winners and earned her a spot in the “Tournament
of Champions.”

Hardee won $27,600 during her time in the tournament, though she said her main goal was to relax and have fun.

“I felt a lot more comfortable,” Hardee said. “I knew what to expect, and I didn’t have the same anxiety and the same pressure that I did going into my first appearance on ‘Jeopardy!.’ I have already been on there, and I’ve already won money, so the worst that can happen is I get a trip to California and $5,000 out of the deal. So I was just kind of there to enjoy it, and that made it very much more enjoyable, and (there was) less pressure.”

Hardee graduated from Liberty with a bachelor’s degree in history in 2012 and received her master’s degree in history in 2014. This background attributed to Hardee’s strength in history
related categories.

“I definitely have learned so much from the history major, and you pick up on not only history but artwork and music and things as you’re learning about history and culture which helps with the dreaded opera category or an art category,” Hardee said. “I got an art category that I did very well in. Thanks to Professor Donald’s Renaissance and Reformation class I got Botticelli … so shout out to Professor Donald. You pick up things where you don’t really realize you’re making that connection until you are on a stage in front of what will be a TV audience of millions, and all of the sudden you realize that you know this.”

While a student at Liberty, Hardee competed on the quiz bowl team, helping the team to become the undefeated Big South Conference champions in 2011 and 2012. She returned to the team in 2014 as part of the first quiz bowl team from Liberty to qualify for the National Academic Quiz Tournament’s national tournament in Chicago, where they ranked 20th in the country.

“Quiz Bowl definitely was a big help, and I got to hang out with people who love trivia, so obviously the quiz bowl team was an amazingly fun thing for me,” Hardee said. “You just learn a lot even if you don’t get the answer at that tournament. You hear the question and you hear the specific pieces of information that fit together, so you learn to associate different pieces of information and have them just go together in your brain so that when one little group comes up in a clue on ‘Jeopardy!,’ you know what it is talking about.”

Hardee said she does not really know what sparked her love for trivia, only that it is something that she has always enjoyed.

“My brain just works that way so I can’t help it,” Hardee said. “I just loved learning and reading since I was old enough to read. Apparently I told my mom on my first day of kindergarten that it was the most exciting day of my life. Then when she asked me why I said that, (I said) it was because I was going to learn to read that day.”

Having now competed on the show twice, Hardee said her favorite part was getting to meet people who love trivia as much as she does.

“The best part, especially of the ‘Tournament of Champions,’ was getting to meet all the other champions that I had watched throughout the year and getting to hang out with them. They are all incredibly smart, nice (and) brilliant people, so its super fun to get to hang out with 16 of probably the smartest trivia nerds in the country.”

Hardee currently teaches 5th and 6th grade history along with high school government and geometry. After her first time on the show, Hardee said she wanted to use the money to travel and has already begun fulfilling that dream.

“I went to New Zealand in March, and I went to Ireland last summer, so I feel like I’ve gotten some nice traveling in,” Hardee said. “We’ll see if I can find anywhere else to go, but I don’t have anything planned in particular.”

Her plan right now is to save her winnings from the show to supplement her current salary and to provide a nest egg for herself. In total, Hardee won more than $122,000 on the show.

LAPP is a news reporter.

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