Hoover student to compete in Teen Jeopardy

Tune in on Nov. 8 to see Hoover freshman Rotimi Kukoyi compete in the Jeopardy! Teen Tournament for a $100,000 prize. Fifteen students from all over the nation, with ages ranging from 14 to 17, will be competing head to head on the game show.

Kukoyi will be participating on the second day of the televised competition, Nov. 8, against Isabella Pagano, a freshman from Illinois, and Caleb Richmond, a sophomore from New Hampshire.

“It’s a really cool experience to meet Alex Trebek,” Kukoyi said.

The participants with the highest money totals continue on, but the teens that do not make it in the first round still have a chance at victory. The top four non-game winners with the highest money totals will advance to the semi-finals as Wild Cards.

“I have seen teens greatly impacted by their participation, they make lifelong friends,” Maggie Speak, the contestant producer on the show, said. “They are able to help pay for their own college tuition. It has turned out to be a good thing [for] college applications and resumes.”

Each student had to take at least two tests, an audition, participate in a mock Jeopardy game and have a short interview to qualify for the on-television game. Since it started in 1987, the Teen Tournament has increased its viewership and staff with 23 million viewers.

Kukoyi will be one of only two freshmen competing in this season’s tournament and the only student representing Alabama. The show airs weekdays on WIAT CBS channel 42 at 3:30 p.m.