From game-board clues and Alex Trebek’s Harlem legacy to alumni champs’ winning strategies, this Jesuit university in New York City has a special bond with America’s favorite quiz show.
Millions of viewers tune in to watch Ken Jennings host Jeopardy! every weeknight, relishing the chance to test their knowledge from the couch. But the Fordham community boasts far more direct connections to the quiz show widely credited with making it cool to be smart.
To celebrate those ties, we take a look at some close-to-home clues and reflect on the generosity of the late, legendary host Alex Trebek and his wife, Jean.
Plus, three Fordham grads reveal what it really takes to win on Jeopardy!—from buzzer mechanics to how to stay calm under the lights.
What Is Fordham?
Well, for one thing, the Jesuit University of New York seems to be a Jeopardy! favorite. Fordham-related clues have surfaced four times in five years—including just last month—and our 175th anniversary was even the subject of a special Final Jeopardy clue recorded by Alex Trebek.
Here they are in a test we’re sure you’ll ace (except maybe that last one)!
Category: Colleges That You Could Apply to in 1895 | $1,600
Category: Commencement Celebrities | $1,200
Category: New York Colleges | $1,000
Category: A College Conference Call | $2,000
Category: 19 Letter Words | A Special Final Jeopardy Clue
What Is the Alex Trebek Endowed Scholarship?
Kind. Generous. Patient. Warm. These are words people who met him use to describe the late Alex Trebek, who along with his wife, Jean, created an endowed scholarship to support Fordham students. Fans who tuned in to Jeopardy! during Trebek’s 36 years as host no doubt agree.
In 2015, the Trebeks made a $1 million gift to Fordham to support undergraduate students from Harlem, where their son, Fordham graduate Matthew Trebek ’13, is a restaurateur. Four years later, the couple added another $1 million to the endowed fund to expand scholarships to students from East Harlem.
“I have seen the benefits of a Fordham education close up,” Trebek said in 2015, noting how Fordham “not only sharpened [Matthew’s] intellect but helped him develop as a leader and a well-rounded person. My hope for this scholarship is that it helps many other deserving students have that same transformational experience.”
So far, 22 Fordham students have earned more than $800,000 in scholarship support through the Trebeks’ generosity.
What Did Alex Trebek Mean to the Fordham Community?
Joseph M. McShane, SJ, now president emeritus of Fordham, reflected on Trebek’s impact following his death in November 2020 after living publicly with pancreatic cancer for more than a year.
“Much as we loved Alex as the host of Jeopardy!, I believe he came to mean more to Fordham—and to the public—as an educator and a spokesperson for the power of education. He gave knowledge and expertise a cachet among a broad audience in a time when those qualities seemed under assault in popular entertainment.”
Jeopardy! winner Ed Condon ’84 taped his appearances on the show in August 2019, about six months after Trebek shared his cancer diagnosis.
“As a contestant, until you’re picked for a specific game, you sit and watch other people’s games. I watched him host six games before I got on.
“Every time there was a break, he would go to the front of the stage and answer questions from the audience with such patience and such kindness. And every time a new audience would come in, he would answer as patiently as he had the previous one. That’s hard enough to do when you feel well. He took his role very, very, very seriously.”
“If you have compassion in your heart, everything is possible. Peace everywhere is possible.”
Alex Trebek when he and his wife, Jean, received the Founder’s Award from Fordham in 2020
Dennis Golin ’13 was a two-day Jeopardy! champion in 2015.
“He was a very genuine, warm person. I sent him a letter before he died saying I was a Fordham graduate who was grateful for his investment in the school and for giving scholarships to people who need them. I told him I wished him luck and good health and just reminded him that a lot of people really loved him.
“He sent back the photograph of the two of us that I had sent him. He autographed it and wrote, ‘To Dennis, a Winner!’”
“We should never be afraid of the future, because we are going to figure out ways to deal with it.”
Alex Trebek in a Q&A session with Fordham students in 2011
From Wu-Tang Hype Tracks to Buzzer Timing: Winning Strategies from a Trio of Jeopardy! Champs
We caught up with three Jeopardy! champions to see what led to their winning ways and what we can learn from their experiences on the iconic game show. Here are their perspectives, as told to Mary Alice Casey.
Cultivate Your Curiosity About the World
Dennis Golin ’13 | Major: Philosophy | Two-Day Jeopardy! Champion in 2015
My Jeopardy! experience has become lore among friends and family. People regularly send me their Final Jeopardy guesses, including some who think quite differently on many issues than I do, and that’s a nice affirming reminder of the show’s unifying power. I like being a kind of Jeopardy! ambassador.
I was 23 when I won two games and a little over $59,000 in 2015. I credit the Wu-Tang Clan. I listened to Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) on headphones to get me psyched on my van ride to the studio with other contestants. It was loud. I’m sure they could hear it, too, and no doubt wondered who they were up against!
I just let myself be this character of “guy who wins on a game show” and it worked. I also thought about the cash prize as play money, which made my wagering decisions feel less serious.
My Fordham experience, especially the breadth of education I got in core classes, was very helpful. Fordham really encouraged the values of pluralism and intellectual curiosity that led me in some very interesting directions, and all of that ended up being relevant.
But of course knowing the answers is only half the battle. People always ask about my buzzer strategy. I tell them being a drummer for 10 years by that time gave me an edge with timing. The objective is to nail the buzzer exactly when these lights on either side of the board go on in the studio. My strategy involved sensing the cadence of the question and predicting when to hit the buzzer. The predictive element is key.
Today, I’m a video editor for MS NOW—thanks to Fordham visual arts professors Ross McLaren and Mark Street for setting me on that path. I’m also a podcast producer for the Financial Times and private tour guide for Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City.
Those things actually have something in common with Jeopardy! I think my interest in media, the news, and food all comes from a place of curiosity about the world. I think that’s also the key to prevailing on Jeopardy!—and I’m really glad I did.
‘It’s Good Brain Exercise’
Rosemary McCabe Travis ’63, Marymount College | Major: History | Five-Day Jeopardy! Champion in 1972
I am one of the lucky few to have been on Jeopardy! during both the Art Fleming and Alex Trebek eras. In 1972, I was a five-time champion, and at that time you were limited to five wins. They brought me back for the Tournament of Champions in November 1973.
By then we had moved from Brooklyn to Terre Haute, Indiana, and we used the money for a down payment on a house. I competed again in 2007, when the show brought back contestants from Art Fleming’s time as host. Alex and the audience laughed when I mentioned I was a five-time Jeopardy! champ before Ken Jennings was even born!
Prior to my first appearance and unbeknownst to me, my mother-in-law wrote a letter to the show saying, “My daughter-in-law would be a good contestant.” She had been quizzing me on $100 questions (then top dollar in the categories) during our Sunday dinners, and I got most of them right!
She confessed to her mischief when I received an invitation to audition. That went well, and a week later I got a call asking me to appear on a Thursday in February 1972 at NBC Studios at 30 Rockefeller Center. That morning, I took the subway from Bay Ridge and went to Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral before the taping. I figured it couldn’t hurt!
To someone going on the show today, I would say read a lot, stay up on the news, be curious, and practice buzzing in while you’re watching at home. In the ’70s, a person behind the board lifted a cover to expose the answer, and you could buzz in as soon as the clue was shown. You can’t do that now, but I was a quick reader with good recall, so I often buzzed in first!
Winning comes down to this: Do you know the answer? Can you come up with it quickly? That was the fun of it for me. I always liked to raise my hand in class when I knew the answer. I am so grateful for my Catholic education—at St. Augustine Grammar School and Bishop McDonnell High School in Brooklyn, Marymount College in Tarrytown (which became part of Fordham decades after I graduated), and St. John’s University in Queens, where I took graduate classes.
At 84, I still love to play at home. As I tell friends, who still like to tout my Jeopardy! wins, it’s good brain exercise.
‘Ring in Fast, Answer Slowly’
Ed Condon ’84 | Major: History | Two-Day Jeopardy! Champion in 2019
Having Jeopardy! Champion on your resume can open doors. It helped me land a sweet retirement gig: teaching a history class for seniors near my home in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. Each year, I create about 30 hours of lectures, which keeps my mind and presentation skills sharp.
My two Jeopardy! wins came in 2019. I had retired from Verizon two years earlier and took the show’s test in 2018. No response, so I took it again in 2019 and was called for an audition. It was a fun process.
Now, when I watch from home, I shout my answers at the TV. Sometimes I think, “I could have so won this game!” Or, “I might not have made it to Final Jeopardy today.” Actually, I like it when people answer clues that completely stump me.
My strongest categories deal with history, my major at Fordham, and I owe a shout-out to Larry Kohl, PhD, for teaching me—in his Age of Jackson course—which Harrison (William Henry) was a peer of Andrew Jackson. I also want to apologize to Thomas Palaima, PhD, formerly of the Department of Classics. I learned about the Sumerians in his Origins of Language course, but couldn’t come up with that answer to a Daily Double.
Here’s my advice for Jeopardy! hopefuls: Try to relax during the audition interview and, if you have a chance to be funny, be funny. The best prep is watching old episodes to pick up on recurring themes. (They love Florence Nightingale and Fordham!) Ring in fast, answer slowly. Oh, and about that buzzer, give Ken time to finish the clue and take about half a breath, then hit it. At least that’s what worked for me.
I’ve found that people are really interested in the whole process. So I feel an obligation to explain everything that goes on behind the scenes as patiently as Alex would. It never gets old, and honestly, I feel like I’ve been entrusted with a story to share.
