A Lawrence alumna made her network television premier Wednesday as a contestant on “JEOPARDY!”
Melanie Perrault, ’90, now an associate professor of history at Salisbury Sate University in Maryland, lived out one of her childhood dreams of being a contestant on one of TV’s most beloved game shows.
“I watched JEOPARDY! since I was a kid, playing against my dad,” Perrault said via phone Wednesday. “I would beat him on a regular basis.” Perrault’s father, Bill Perrault, is currently a biology professor at Lawrence.
Perrault was chosen randomly out of a pool of 35,000 applicants to take the preliminary test. Having passed the test, she was put in the running for a spot on the show. She received a call in early December and flew out to Los Angeles in January.
Perrault dominated the first round and maintained the lead through Double Jeopardy, but a hefty wager in Final Jeopardy cost her the title.
Nonetheless, Perrault looks back favorably on the experience. “It was basically like a dream,” she said.
“Meeting Alex Trebek was my life’s ambition.” She added with a laugh, “It’s all downhill from here.
Lawrence alumna appears on JEOPARDY!
