A freshman from Vassar College...

Greg Lichtenstein

Do you have a dream Jeopardy! category?
Um, yeah--my dream Jeopardy! category would probably be EUROPEAN ROYALS OF THE 18th CENTURY.

What's harder: preparing for Jeopardy! or cramming for a mid-term?
Cramming for a mid-term is much harder than preparing for Jeopardy!

Where do you see yourself in ten years?
Um, in ten years, I see myself being a lawyer.

How did your friends and family react when they heard you'd be on Jeopardy!?
Oh, my friends and family, they were all really excited that I was going to be on the show. I got, just, a lot of screaming and "Congratulations!" and "Good luck!"s, all that sort of thing.

Show your school spirit and tune in!

2009 College Championship semifinalist: $10,000.

18 and from Plainview, New York at the time of the College Championship.

Greg Lichtenstein Blog Entry 3
May 13, 2009

A quick word about the semis…

The next day was much of the same—down in the lobby at 7:30. Drive to the studio, film some promos, wait in the green room. The atmosphere was definitely more relaxed the second day. Everyone was getting to know each other, and I think we were all more comfortable joking with each other and telling stories. My semi-final game went decently, I think. I wound up not knowing the final and Laura took the finalist spot. I thought (and I think Andrew would agree) that it was a pretty difficult question, and so I definitely think that Laura deserved it, seeing as how she knew the answer. Obviously, I was a little bummed about not winning—I think it’s near impossible not to be—but at the same time I wasn’t upset. I think I did myself proud (especially as the sole freshman!) and it was such a relief to not worry about competing anymore. I sat in the audience for the rest of the day, and it was nice to be able to socialize with everyone as friends, rather than competitors.

Afterwards we went back to the hotel and a bunch of us all met up to go out. We went to dinner at Universal CityWalk, and after Ariella, Andrew, and Larissa all tried their hand at riding a mechanical bull, which was good amusement. We then went back to the hotel and continued hanging out until fairly late into the night. It was so much fun. Everybody in the competition was such great people, and it was great meeting them all. Us New York area contestants already have a reunion in the works!

Seriously though, the whole experience was incredible. Everyone at Jeopardy! was wonderful—Maggie, Robert, Corina, Glenn, and everyone else. They were just all so personable and fun to talk to—I couldn’t have asked for a better crew to have worked with. Plus, all the other kids were great. By the end of our time in LA, we became really great friends, and I’m looking forward to seeing them all again sometime in the future. Playing Jeopardy! too, is so much fun. Yes, it’s nerve-wracking, but it’s so great at the same time. Truly, this was a once in a lifetime experience. I know that I already had to tape some really corny ads encouraging people to take the online test, but seriously, do it! I would recommend the Jeopardy! experience wholeheartedly, and it would not be going too far to say that it was one of my best life experiences thus far.


Greg Lichtenstein Blog Entry 2
May 7, 2009

Arriving in LA and the first day of taping:
After arriving in Los Angeles on April 12 and getting settled in the hotel and whatnot, my family and I had a pretty mellow night. We were all pretty jet lagged and so bed seemed like a good choice. The next day, we went to the La Brea Tar Pits (very cool) and then to Universal Studios, which was pretty fun. I had only spent about two hours in Los Angeles prior to this, and so it was good times being a tourist and seeing the sights. However, I didn’t come to LA to take in the attractions—I had a game show to appear on.

Wake-up at 6:15 AM on April 14: not my best hour. The early morning never is (my ideal wake up time is around 2-3 PM), and this was no exception. Naturally, I was running late getting ready. I can just never seem to pull it together in the mornings. However, I managed to get showered, dressed, and to eat breakfast all by 7:30 to meet Maggie and Corina in the hotel lobby with my fellow contestants. We drove over to the studio, and Maggie briefed us on all of the necessary details of playing the game.

Upon our arrival at the studio, we were put into the “green room.” It was here that we would wait for our turns to play. First though, we shot some horribly embarrassing (am I allowed to say that?) promos for the introduction to the show and for various advertisements. We got our makeup done, which was a new experience for me, and played a rehearsal round. Then we returned to the green room and waited. It was all good though, Mean Girls was put on (it’s a cinematic masterpiece… really), and I played some card games with some of the other contestants. Finally though, it was time to tape.

As the only freshman in the competition, I was a little extra nervous playing against Eric and Elyssa, a senior and a junior respectively. Of course though, it’s a little nerve-wracking being on a game show… especially one watched by 12 million people every day (someone shared that little tidbit with us—before taping unfortunately). To be frank, I was freaking out a little bit (or a lot). As the game started, my nervousness was not at all allayed when I quickly dipped down into the red right at the beginning. Fortunately though, I didn’t stay there, and I managed by about halfway through double Jeopardy! to make a pretty nice comeback. Double Jeopardy! ended with me in the lead (wow!). Wagering for final was tough, almost impossible actually, given the amount my hand was shaking as I wrote. Finally though, I managed to steady myself enough to write my wager. Final Jeopardy! went pretty well for me though. I got the answer, and won my first game!

I was pretty dazed throughout the next bit of proceedings. Going to the front of the stage and chatting with Alex is a little bit hazy, and I can’t remember the little on-camera interview that followed at all. I was so relieved though—I made the semis! It was nice being able to watch the next two episodes in the audience. I must say, I felt pretty bad for the kids still stuck in the green room. Soon enough, the day was done, and it was time to head back to the hotel and await the semi-finals.
Greg Lichtenstein Blog Entry 1
May 4, 2009

So, I guess that my Jeopardy! College Championship saga technically begins when I took the online test back in September (I think… it seems so long ago!), or maybe even when I went for the live audition in Boston. Really though, in my mind, it begins when I got "the call," informing me that I was going to be a contestant. It was the second week of my spring break, and I was just relaxing by my computer at home when my phone rang. I saw that the call was from the 310 area code, and I naturally thought, "Who the hell is this?" I distinctly remember thinking that perhaps it was a friend from school whose number I hadn't yet entered into my phone. Needless to say, I did not expect what came next.

The voice at the other end of the phone said, "Hi. Is this Greg?" It didn't sound like one of my friends from school. I suppose I responded with a tentative, "Yes…?" at which point the voice said, "It's Glenn from Jeopardy!" Understandably, I started to get excited at this point. By the time he told me that I was actually on, I was really, really pumped. After I got off the phone with Glenn, I immediately called my dad, and then my mom. Then I texted a bunch of my friends. There were several phone calls that involved lots of yelling and screaming all around. However, this was only the beginning.

In the next few weeks I had to get myself ready. I didn't do all too much studying, but I did find a great website with all the questions and answers from the past 25 seasons of Jeopardy! That was pretty helpful and I definitely looked at it in my spare time to prepare. Returning to school from spring break was exciting. All of my friends were so happy for me, and everyone was anxious to find out details about the taping. Where is it? When do you go? What can you win? All those questions and more were asked of me. Then of course there was all the administrative stuff to do before leaving, forms and such. Finally though, April 12 rolled around, and I flew out to Los Angeles with my mom, dad, and sister to begin the next stage of the Jeopardy! experience.

Greg appeared in the following 2 archived games:
#5692, aired 2009-05-12 Greg Lichtenstein vs. Laura Myers vs. Andrew Ceppos 2009 College Championship semifinal game 2.
#5688, aired 2009-05-06 Eric Betts vs. Elyssa Browning vs. Greg Lichtenstein 2009 College Championship quarterfinal game 3. Ask Alex #17: College.

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