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By Steve Seepersaud

The reboot of the popular game show Jeopardy! first hit the air when Terry Wolfisch Cole ’86 was a student at Binghamton. She fondly recalls watching the late Alex Trebek while sitting in a second-hand black vinyl recliner in her apartment at 69 Walnut St., on Binghamton's West Side.

Nearly four decades later, she was home in Connecticut with friends, watching herself on the Jan. 6 episode hosted by Ken Jennings, who holds the game’s longest winning streak. Turns out, Wolfisch Cole was on stage with someone else making Jeopardy! history. 

The Harpur College of Arts and Sciences alumna had the unenviable task of facing Amy Schneider, who had been a veritable Jeopardy! buzzsaw en route to amassing winnings of more than $1 million. Wolfisch Cole did something few of Schneider’s opponents could — remain within striking distance with a chance to earn the victory during Final Jeopardy. 

Unfortunately, Wolfisch Cole finished third when she could not produce the correct question — “What is the Tower of London?” — to the answer, “Begun in the 1070s with stone from Caen, it was meant to dominate both a skyline and the hearts and minds of a conquered populace.”

“I did my best,” Wolfisch Cole said. “It was a fair match. Amy is one of the best there ever was.”

Appearing on the show was the culmination of a lengthy process involving online general knowledge tests followed by an in-person interview that mimics the game play of Jeopardy! to see if potential contestants could be a good fit for the show. 

In addition, Wolfisch Cole studied frequently used categories and had her husband and friends ask thousands of practice questions. She says, to her surprise, the difficulty didn't just lie in coming up with answers to the questions; it was being able to ring in before her competitors. 

“Everybody knew their stuff before they applied and then they studied,” she said. “Some people got the call [from Jeopardy!] before the pandemic so they had more than a year to study. What differentiates the champs from everyone else is not only the depth and breadth of their knowledge but also fast buzzer speed. If you try and ring in too soon, you’re locked out. If you wait too long, someone else has beaten you.

“A returning champion who has learned the rhythm has an advantage. I purchased a practice buzzer and used an app online to improve my speed. Between the call and the taping, I improved from 300 to 100 milliseconds. It was a lot like Olympic swimming. This was the nerd Olympics where hundredths of a second matter and after decades of preparation it was like swimming against Katie Ledecky.”

The episode was taped Nov. 1, and Wolfisch Cole wasn’t able to disclose the results to anyone other than immediate family members who — in a pre-COVID-19 world — would’ve been allowed in the studio during taping. Wolfisch Cole said friends not knowing the outcome made the watch party more fun. 

“Everyone was cheering for me, especially when they thought I had a chance to win,” Wolfisch Cole said. “It was magical to watch the show through their eyes, and see what a success it was even though I hadn’t won. It took the sting out of losing.”

Wolfisch Cole brings the experience and notoriety of being a past Jeopardy! contestant to her business , which uses live shows, online workshops and personal coaching to teach the art of storytelling for business and professional purposes.

“Win or lose, the thrilling part of this experience was being part of my dream as it unfolded in front of me,” Wolfisch Cole said. “The experience was something I had imagined for so long. I always tell people to figure out what your dream is and know that the only difference between you and the people who’ve experienced it is that  they went for it, and you could do that, too.”