Former Lowry graduate, Allison Beck — now Allison Strekal — competed on an episode of Jeopardy just recently, fulfilling a long-time aspiration and showing off her excellent trivia skills, cultivated by years of Jeopardy fandom.
“I have been taking the online test since I was 18 to try and get on the show," she said. "I took it last spring, and then had to do two more rounds of testing/interviews. Once I received the call from Jeopardy that I had made it through to be on the show, I had about five weeks before filming in Los Angeles. Being on the set was really cool since I’ve been watching it on TV for so many years."
Strekal grew up in Winnemucca and attended Lowry High School, graduating in 2006. Strekal's father, Ron Beck, taught history and coached football for 25 years. Some readers may even remember playing Jeopardy in his class, as watching the show is somewhat of tradition in the family.
“Anyone who had my dad as a teacher will remember playing Jeopardy each week in his class, so it was special to share this journey with him," she said. "He bought me some new trivia books to help me study and even got out his old history textbook to ask me questions from!”
Strekal and her husband now reside in Montana where she works as a Development Director for a nonprofit in Missoula. Strekal’s parents, Ron and Connie Beck, also currently live in Montana where the family is originally from. Strekal said friends and family gathered together to watch Jeopardy when the episode aired after filming.
“Everyone was excited for me, we had a watch party here in Missoula, and it was fun to watch how excited everyone was," she said. "It was nice to be able to reconnect with some people who reached out to me about the show."
Although Strekal was in the lead for the majority of the game, two-time champion Suresh Krishna correctly guessed the last “Daily Double” and ended up taking home the win.
“Obviously the outcome of the game didn’t end the way I would have liked, but I played a strong game and put myself in a good position for Final Jeopardy," Strekal said. "My original goal going into the game was to have positive dollars to be able to compete in Final, so I did that!”
According to Strekal, contestants have no idea what categories they are going to be asked, so preparing is a big deal and a fun part of the process.
“My favorite part was getting to be on set and play an actual game," she said. "I also enjoyed the studying before; I learned more about subjects that I wasn’t that strong in, like art and Shakespeare. Before we came home, we visited the Getty Museum in LA, so it was really neat to see actual paintings that I had been studying and learning about in person.”
Although Strekal did plenty of preparation, being on the show was still nerve-wracking for her and other contestants, some who flew from other countries to compete.
“It was fun getting to know [the other contestants] and hear about their experiences. It was also nice to have other people to be nervous with before taping our episodes,” she said.
For other Jeopardy fans, Strekal encourages them to take the Anytime Test at Jeopardy.com to have their own chance at such a fun experience.