Alum Buzzes in on "Jeopardy!"

Nikhil Joshi (B.S. ’07, biological sciences) takes on television’s biggest trivia game as a contestant on “Jeopardy!”.

Can a University of Maryland alum from Montville, New Jersey, out-buzz the competition on one of television’s most popular game shows? Nikhil Joshi (B.S. ’07, biological sciences) will have an opportunity to do just that on June 5 as a contestant on “Jeopardy!” Though Joshi’s been a “Jeopardy!” fan for years, he never thought he could go this far.

“My brother and I would watch ‘Jeopardy!’ pretty much every night growing up. We'd always talk about getting on the show, but I never thought it would happen,” Joshi explained. “It was always one of these dreams I never thought would come true.”

Joshi, who earned his MBA from Boston University and doctorate in veterinary medicine from the University of Pennsylvania after graduating from UMD in 2007, now lives in Anne Arundel County and works as a senior professional services veterinarian at Merck Animal Health. For the last several months, he’s been in a “Jeopardy!” whirlwind. Two years ago, after multiple attempts, Joshi passed the online “Jeopardy!” Anytime Test for prospective contestants. 

“Anybody can take the test online. They show you the category and then they'll flash the answer on the screen and then you have to type in the question, and I think they give you eight seconds to type it in,” he said. “After I took the test, I got an email that said that I had qualified for the next round.”

Then, in February, after acing a second round of questions and passing an on-camera Zoom audition, Joshi was thrilled—and somewhat terrified—to learn he’d been chosen to be a contestant.

From stressing to studying

“The producer called me, and he said, ‘Would you like to be on the show?’ I said, sure, but, honestly, I was extremely nervous when I got the call and even considered dropping out. I was that stressed, maybe it was impostor syndrome,” Joshi recalled. “I thought maybe they made a mistake, or they flipped my test scores with somebody else. I went through all those emotions.”

Soon Joshi stopped stressing and started studying—cramming his brain with as much information as he could—from Shakespeare and English monarchs to world capitals and everything in between—grateful that he would be able to tap into everything he learned at Maryland to tackle those challenging “Jeopardy!” categories.

“I knew that with my background in science, I would have an advantage there, knowing the basics of chemistry and biology and physics, and I was pretty sure those things would come up during the game,” he said. “I was hoping I would be strong in some non-science categories like sports and geography, too.”

To prepare for the intensity of the game itself, Joshi watched—and played—“Jeopardy!” again and again.

“I trained by watching the show nightly, standing up, pretending to buzz in and making wagers—and in that sense, the show didn't actually seem that fast to me,” Joshi said. “As far as the categories, I tried not to overreact to each category; rather, I just responded to each individual clue.” 

“In the zone”

By April, when Joshi travelled to Los Angeles for the show taping, he felt ready.

“By the time the taping happened, believe it or not, I was very calm,” Joshi said. “That morning in the Uber ride, I realized whatever happens, happens. Doesn't matter. I'm lucky to be here, I'm happy to be here.”

The show taping was an all-day experience Joshi could only describe as surreal.

“Definitely surreal and also nerve-wracking, as I didn't think I would match up to all the smart people who have been on before me,” he recalled. “But I was definitely in the zone. I was locked in on the board during gameplay. I never looked at Ken or my fellow contestants and ignored the audience. It was great.”

Now, several weeks after the taping, Joshi is back to his regular routine, still sworn to secrecy about the outcome of his “Jeopardy!” appearance and very much looking forward to experiencing the show as a viewer instead of a competitor.

“I am a little nervous,” he said. “I have no idea how I'll come across on camera. But I’m also excited!”

With his appearance on “Jeopardy!”, Joshi joins a long list of UMD alums who have competed—and sometimes won big—on the show over the years. As for how his own “Jeopardy!” adventure went, Joshi says you’ll just have to tune in and find out.

“I'm not going to divulge anything,” he said. “You'll just have to watch.”