A scientist from Bethesda, Maryland...

Donna Vogel

I'm Donna Vogel from Bethesda, Maryland.

How has being a Jeopardy! champion changed your life?
People look at me differently. It's a very special kind of status. It puts you in a special category. One colleague of mine who works in New York said to me, "People are more impressed that I know a Jeopardy! champion than that I know two Nobel Prize winners.

How did you celebrate your original run on Jeopardy!?
How we celebrated? We just had at party at the house, had some people over. Just had a good time with it.

Has anyone recognized you from your Jeopardy! appearance?
Actually, I've been recognized and asked for my autograph, but not by the same people. I was recognized the weekend after my shows aired, when I was in Buffalo for my high school reunion and some people recognized me in a restaurant, and I was asked for my autograph by the security guard in the building where I work after I told him I'd been on Jeopardy!

Are you more or less nervous this time?
In a way, I'm both more and less nervous than I was the first time. Less, because I'm a little familiar with the routine, I know what I'm going to be asked to do, but on the other hand, I'm a little more nervous because I know how stiff the competition is.

Is there anything you'd like to share that you think Jeopardy! fans might want to know?
What surprised me the most about the Jeopardy! process was that some elements of it are very low-tech. That surprised me--the way they picked out names by writing them on little pieces of paper and drawing to see who would be competing--that really surprised me. I thought it would be much more high-tech than that.

Place your bets and tune in!

2009 Tournament of Champions wildcard semifinalist: $10,000.
Season 24 4-time champion: $85,299 + $2,000.

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