In May, Jamie (Carter) Logan, B.A. 2009, fulfilled a lifelong dream of appearing on the game show “Jeopardy!” Logan, a public relations consultant and writer from Augusta, Maine, said she has tried out for the show “more times than I can remember.” She received a callback for a live audition five of those times, twice while a student at CatholicU and three times since graduating.

Her most recent call for an audition came a few weeks before the death of long-time host Alex Trebek. After his death in November 2020, Logan’s audition was moved to the winter of 2021.

“Having grown up watching Alex Trebek as the host of “Jeopardy!” nearly every weeknight for my entire life, it was bittersweet making it onto the show but without Alex there,” she said. “Bill Whittaker was a wonderful host, though!”

Logan’s run on the game show lasted for three days, and she walked away a winner of more than $50,000. “In a dream world, I’d be spending my winnings to open a bookstore along the river here in Augusta,” she said. But in reality, she’ll use the money on more practical expenses.

Logan, who majored in politics and minored in philosophy and theology and religious studies, said that her time in CatholicU’s honors program — especially living in community with honors students in Regan Hall — “was a wonderful way to be surrounded by knowledge and other people who loved to read, loved to learn, loved to play games, and never seemed to mind when ‘Jeopardy!’ was on in the dorm lounge. Those friendships and conversations certainly played a big part, and still do, in my love of knowledge and lifelong learning.”

Logan’s run on the quiz show ended with a question about Shakespeare. For other alumni who dream of appearing on the show, she advised, “Keep trying! Learn your Shakespeare! And when you do audition, have fun, show your personality, and keep smiling.”

— M.M.H.