“All of the contestants are together in the green room watching the games, so you see everybody else’s game while waiting for your turn. Everybody is supportive and cheering for each other,” said Betty Hume, who appeared in three episodes of Jeopardy over the last week, in a conversation with the Fredericksburg Free Press.
Hume, a Fredericksburg resident and 1971 graduate of the University of Mary Washington, won a total of $27,800 over two games and finished second in the final match, which aired Monday night. She has worked at the adult reference desk and then in children’s and young adult services at several branches of the Central Rappahannock Regional Library.
She has been watching the show since it debuted in 1964. She applied several times in the 1970s and 80s but never made it to an in-person audition. After the anytime online test became available, she took it and was invited to a Zoom audition. She received a call this summer from a California number and had about a month to prepare.
Hume said she felt confident in history, literature, and geography but worried about science and math. She used old Trivial Pursuit games to practice science questions. She went for a true Daily Double a couple of times.
She joins at least 11 other UMW graduates who have competed on Jeopardy, according to alums who responded to a Facebook post. Hume said her main goal was not to embarrass herself and to end in the positive, and she is pleased with how she performed.
