MINNEAPOLIS — KARE 11 will re-air tonight's episode at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, April 17.
A $ 100,000 dollar top prize is in reach for U of M student Nibir Sarma. The sophomore is down to the final 3 in the College Championship on the iconic game show Jeopardy!
Sarma is prepared to make his mark in the 2-day College Championship. A moment it seems he’s been prepping for his entire life, “I read a lot as a kid. I spent a lot of time reading informational type books, spending time watching educational type videos on YouTube and reading through Wikipedia.”
That’s a pretty solid resume, but it doesn’t stop there. The sophomore is involved with National Academic Quiz Tournaments, so he’s experienced in answering trivia in a high-pressure setting. Of course, being on set, took some adjustment, “It’s really surreal being on the stage after seeing it on TV.”
The road to that blue-and-purple stage began in October. There were written tests, interviews and show simulations leading to a memorable day in mid-January when Nibir was driving his little brother home from Eden Prairie High School. “The phone rang. It was Glenn, one of the show’s producers, I knew right away and kind of turned to my little brother and tapped him on the arm and started mouthing ‘this is it’ while pointing at the car speakers.”
One might think, that would be the time to cram in as much knowledge as possible, but Nibir took another approach. He had a little pen he picked up at the audition, shaped like the signaling device used on the show. He thought he would be at a disadvantage because he doesn’t play video games to improve his reaction time. So Nibir carried the pen around in his jacket pocket, clicking it up and down just to practice getting a feel of the signaling device.
That strategy seems to have paid off so far for Chemical Engineering major who claims game show notoriety hasn’t yet caught up with him. “I haven’t been recognized on the streets of Minneapolis, yet.” But support from roommates, high school friends and peers from the multiple student groups he’s a part of at the U of M has been overwhelming. “I’ve actually been able to attend multiple watch parties each day that I’ve been on just because everyone wants to watch the episode.”
Oh, and how could we not mention getting to meet Alex Trebek? “He’s every single bit as nice and whatever you see on TV, that is what you see in person. He really cares about getting to know the contestants and spending time with them.”
With a 100 grand on the line, there’s plenty for Nibir to dream about, “I play clarinet in the gopher hockey pep band but clarinet is not exactly a cool instrument, but what is a cool instrument is the saxophone. If I were to win $100,000 dollars I would want to buy a saxophone and learn how to play it.”