When she was seven years old, Delaney O’Dea ’28 attended a live studio taping of “Jeopardy!” and asked then-host Alex Trebek what the minimum age was to compete. She would have to wait another 11 years for her chance on the stage, Trebek said.
At 18 years old, O’Dea will finally be making her debut on the game show’s 42nd season, with her episode airing on Oct. 15.
“I grew up on ‘Jeopardy!’” O’Dea said. Competing on the show “was always in the back of my head from a very, very young age.”
As a child, O’Dea would watch every episode of “Jeopardy!” with her grandmother, shouting out each answer she knew. Her love of trivia only grew as she got older, and O’Dea went on to lead her high school’s nationally competitive quiz bowl team.
This January, O’Dea completed a 15-minute online test on the “Jeopardy!” website — the first step in the show’s two-part audition process, which includes online testing and a two-round audition. For some, the entire auditioning process takes years, O’Dea explained. But just a month later, she was invited back for the first round of virtual auditions.
In May, she was called back for the final audition — a mock game of “Jeopardy!” conducted over Zoom — and received the official call for her placement on the show in early August.
“I was shocked,” O’Dea said. “This was the dream forever.”
O’Dea said she began studying for the show a month before her mid-September taping, adding that she hadn’t prepared for any of the previous tests.
“I’m famous for my procrastination,” she said.
After practicing questions with her mom and binge-watching episodes while at home, O’Dea continued her studying on College Hill by hosting “Jeopardy!” parties in her dorm. Her friends took turns playing the show’s host, with O’Dea practicing her reaction time with a makeshift buzzer.
Aditi Dey ’28, O’Dea’s roommate, said the preparation process felt more like a “gathering with friends” than a stressful study session.
“It would be really cool if she wins, but it’s cool already that she’s doing the show,” Dey said.
O’Dea adopted a similar mindset, noting that competing on “Jeopardy!”, “was just something to cross off (her) bucket list.”
As one of the youngest contestants on the show, O’Dea said her age offers an advantage in active recall speed. Completing crossword puzzles over the years helped her train for questions containing wordplay clues, she added.
“I feel pretty confident,” Dey said. “Her range of knowledge is kind of insane.”
O’Dea said her two best subject areas are medieval studies and metal music, but others say that O’Dea’s one of her biggest strengths is her curiosity.
“The thing that I think is really evident and admirable about Del is that she’s somebody who knows things because she’s deeply interested in them,” said Assistant Professor of English Mariah Min said. O’Dea is currently enrolled in Min’s course on medieval drama.
“Her knowledge is just a consequence of her really liking something,” Min said.
Before filming her episode, O’Dea connected with three-time “Jeopardy!” contestant Justin Bolsen ’26, who competed in the show’s “Tournament of Champions” in 2024 and won the competition’s High School Reunion Tournament the previous year. Bolsen advised her on buzzer strategies and keeping track of money throughout the game.
“She’s a rockstar,” Bolsen said. “I think she’s going to do really well on the show.”
Bolsen said he was excited to pass the torch to O’Dea, who will continue the recent streak of Brown students competing on “Jeopardy!”
“I’m really excited to be on the other side of things and be the watcher instead of the watched,” he added.
Min said that “it’s tremendously exciting to have a young person in our community on the national stage.”
“Del is a great representative,” she added. “She’s someone who engages in deep study not for external rewards, but because she finds it fascinating.”
