2025 School of Engineering and Applied Science graduate Kayla Patel appeared as a contestant on “Jeopardy!” last week.
The trivia game show requires three contestants to quickly solve clues in a competition for monetary prizes. Patel, who earned a bachelor’s and master’s in bioengineering at Penn, placed third in an Oct. 21 episode and walked away with $1,100 in winnings.
In an interview, Patel described her experience on the show as “surreal.”
“It was genuinely a dream come true getting to go and see the set and see where they filmed a show that I watched since I was a little kid,” she added. “It was a really, really fun experience.”
Her “love” for the show, she explained, stemmed from watching it “pretty much every single night” as a child with her family.
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“My family has been telling me for years to take what’s called the ‘anytime test’ — the first step that you take to getting on the show,” Patel added.
She explained that she was in “complete shock” upon receiving an invitation to compete on the show.
When she received a phone call with the invitation, she was still completing her Master of Science in Applied Digital Health at the University of Oxford.
“It was definitely a little bit hectic, but honestly, I was just excited by the prospect of getting to have this experience,” Patel said.
Before the trivia show, Patel watched old episodes of “Jeopardy!” and read books on a variety of topics. She compared her study technique before the competition to the preparation she undertook before a high school history competition and spelling bee, adding that she worked through large trivia question banks.
She also attributed a “big part” of her preparation to her time at Penn.
“I definitely got exposed to a wide range of different topics and a wide range of knowledge while I was at Penn,” Patel said. “A lot of the knowledge that I just accumulated over the years was what I used to prepare.”
During a portion of the episode dedicated to contestant interviews, she shared a story about a bioengineering course at Penn that included a cockroach lab. Patel expressed that she was happy to see members of the Penn community “respond” and “relate” to her story online since the episode aired.
Patel explained that competing in the show introduced new layers to her understanding of the show — especially with the added component of using a buzzer to answer questions. Once the host has finished reading aloud a clue, contestants must be the first to click a buzzer in order to deliver the answer.
“It is really hard to buzz in on time,” Patel explained. “Even if you know the answer, sometimes you’re not the person that gets the answer just because of how quick you have to be on the buzzer.”
While she initially felt “a little nervous,” she was eventually able to calm her nerves throughout the episode.
“The way I kept myself pretty calm was just remembering that this is an extension of something that I already really like and enjoy,” Patel said.
Beyond the trivia game itself, one of the most meaningful parts of the competition for Patel was forming friendships with the other contestants.
“I actually did gain people in my life that I genuinely feel are newfound friends,” she said. “Obviously we are competitors when we filmed, but everybody there was genuinely so lovely, and we all came out as friends.”
She and her fellow contestants formed a group chat and continue to stay in contact with each other, exchanging book and travel recommendations.
“Knowledge and trivia can be really fun, and it can bring people together.” Patel added.
Last year, 2025 College graduate Shaan Mishra championed “Jeopardy!”
Mishra competed against three-time defending champion and 2007 University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School graduate Tom Devlin.