Senior bucket list for $500.
Greer Mackebee recently starred on “Jeopardy!” as part of the popular quiz show’s College Championships. The senior, a civil and environmental engineering major from Tennessee, was one of 15 players selected from a pool of 12,000 students to compete in the show. From Jan. 5 through Jan. 6, Mackebee traveled to Sony Pictures Studios in California for filming. The tournament will air Feb. 1 through Feb. 14, and the winner will receive the grand prize of $100,000.
“I was in the library getting ready for a class presentation when I received a phone call [from ‘Jeopardy!’],” Mackebee said. “It was a dream come true.”
The filming experience was exciting, and the environment was completely different from answering “Jeopardy!” questions from the comfort of his living room, Mackebee said. He added that the buzzer, along with the nerves, increased the intensity of the show.
“Once you’re on stage, you’re pretty much singularly focused on the game and trying to be in the zone as much as possible,” he said. “One of the weird things about being on the show is that you don’t remember the questions you were asked—it just went by so quickly.”
As for his interest in trivia, Mackebee said he has watched the game show ever since he was a toddler and decided to audition for a spot by taking an online test in 2010.
“Watching ‘Jeopardy!’ definitely sparked my interest, but I have always been into trivia,” Mackebee said. “Aside from my on-campus activities, I enjoy reading newspapers and online articles—it’s always been my thing.”
On campus, Mackebee is a member of the club tennis team and Duke’s chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He also works at Duke Sports Marketing and Promotions and is a member of Wayne Manor.
“I live with Greer, so I see him watching ‘Jeopardy!,’” said senior Will Leister, Mackebee’s fellow Wayne Manor member. “He’s always bringing up trivia facts and searching for answers—he even has a calendar with ‘Jeopardy!’ questions on it.”
Mackebee said he was pleasantly surprised by the laid-back personalities of the other “Jeopardy!” contestants.
“There were students from all over the country, from MIT to Stanford,” he said. “We were all experiencing the same nervousness, which helped us get along very well.”
For his peers, Mackebee’s acceptance onto Jeopardy! did not come as a surprise.
“Greer retains information better than anyone else I know, whether it be from a TV show or just a conversation,” said friend Mitch Heath, Trinity ’11. “Being on ‘Jeopardy!’ has been something he has wanted to do for a long time.”
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