Heritage College employee to compete on “Jeopardy!”

Photo courtesy of: Sony Pictures StudiosMarilyn Maher with Alex Trebek on "Jeopardy!"

Marilyn Maher, an administrative specialist in the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, competes on "Jeopardy!" Thursday, July 5. The game show will air at 7 p.m. on Columbus-based CBS stations and at 7:30 p.m. on West Virginia-based NBC stations.

Maher, who has auditioned and made it into the contestant pool for “Jeopardy!” four times, grew up watching the show with her family. Maher has always had a fondness for trivia and was a member of her high school Quiz Bowl group, a team-oriented trivia competition.

In the summer of 2017, Maher joined the ranks of many contestant hopefuls who must pass an online test before being invited to an audition. During the audition, applicants complete a timed written test, compete in groups of three in a mock version of the game and complete an interview where they are asked to provide five interesting pieces of personal information to discuss. Those who pass the audition are placed into a pool for 18 months. “Jeopardy!” contestants are drawn at random from this pool.

Maher completed her latest audition in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in August 2017. In February, she received the call she had been waiting for, an offer to come film as a contestant in Los Angeles, California. Maher’s show was filmed in early March at Sony Pictures Studios.

“The hardest part of the process was that I was worried I was going to let myself down because I’ve tried out so many times,” Maher said. “There is such a small percentage of people who make it on the show, I believe the statistics they gave me said less than 1 percent. I didn’t want to be regretful after the show.”

While she can’t provide specifics about the show, Maher is happy with how she did. Tune in on July 5 to learn more.

To celebrate her accomplishment, Maher will be watching “Jeopardy!” the day her episode airs with family and friends during a watch party.