My College Roommate on Jeopardy! Tonight

In 2012 my Valparaiso college roommate, Stephanie Jass, appeared on the Jeopardy! stage and won big. She ended up winning seven straight games in a row and won almost $150,000. This put her on the top 15 all-time winner's list and she's won more games than any woman. A few months later, she was invited back to participate in the Tournament of Champions. She didn't win, but it was awesome to see her on tv again!

This year, she was invited to be on Jeopardy! one more time to participate in the Tournament of Decades. Her first appearance (and hopefully not her only appearance) is tonight (April 1, 2014).

It is sort of surreal for me to see my old friend on tv. We were roommates for 3 years (only skipping two semesters when she and I both decided to study abroad) and were very good friends (still are, in the distant, grown-up way that happens in life). A few secrets from those days:

1) Stephanie never seemed to have to study very hard to get good grades. It drove me batty! She could crank out a paper the night before it was due and get an A on it.

2) Stephanie always had good fashion sense. I was a clod compared to her. I knew they would choose her for Jeopardy! if she made it through the testing process because not only does she have a gregarious personality, she dresses well and knows how to style herself.

3) Stephanie loves sports and beer. She's is definitely a 'dream wife' for any man. I remember her being a big Chicago Bears fan, baseball fan, and NCAA bracket-builder. As I recall, she had a bit of a crush on Christian Laettner when he played for Duke. ;-)

4) Stephanie is a crafting goddess. She is very artsy, loves to do all kinds of crafts and always made the most beautiful lettering for posters and signs.

5) Stephanie can sing! She has perfect pitch, from what I remember. Sang all through college with a very exclusive choir and has since participated in all kinds of musicals and now has her own female barbershop quartet, Ear Candy. We used to sing little duets together in college while walking around campus...I could never keep up with her ability to find the right note.

I am so proud to call her my friend and cannot wait to see her back on tv. I wish her the best of luck with tonight's game. Make sure to check out Jeopardy! tonight and cheer her on!