“Jeopardy!” contestant Courtney Shah is on a roll, securing not only her sixth win in a row, but her first “true Daily Double” as well.
Shah, a history instructor at Lower Columbia College, put all her money on the line during last night’s episode to finish off the game with $17,700. This puts her grand total for all six wins at $96,958.
The game show posted a behind the scenes clip of Shah, guest host Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and fellow contestants Mark Lucas and Rebecca Gould. Shah joked with the contestants that they were her “favorite” game, and everyone celebrated her success with the Daily Double.
“I think this is the first time I said [true Daily Double],” Shah said in the clip.
Gupta, who’s hosting “Jeopardy!” until July 9, said Shah’s first true Daily Double was “fantastic” and “very good.” He congratulated the other contestants on their performance as well, saying, “You guys should be very proud, y’all did very, very well.”
Courtney Shah’s ‘Jeopardy!’ Success so Far
“I really never imagined that I would get here — not to day one, and certainly not to day five,” Shah said in a “Jeopardy!” “Streaker” update. Contestants become “Streakers” when they win five games in a row.
Shah’s now a six-day champion and in the running to compete on “Jeopardy’s!” Tournament of Champions. The Portland, Oregon, native is starting to find her groove with the games and hopes to keep this momentum going.
“The first game, it’s all adrenaline,” Shah said. “Now I feel like okay, I can settle in.”
The champion’s next appearance will be on tonight’s show, Tuesday, July 6.
Shah’s Shoutout to Community Colleges
Shah took to Twitter yesterday afternoon before her sixth win to thank a group that’s been key to her “Jeopardy!” success.
“Today’s hat tip is to my wonderful students at @LowerCC. Their discussions, their insightful questions, their capacity to think big — they push me to continue learning alongside them. So watch me on @Jeopardy tonight and support your local community college,” Shah wrote.
Not only does Shah teach a variety of subjects at Lower Columbia College out of Longview, Washington, but she’s also published one texbook and co-authored another. She specializes in US and world history as well as gender, race, and sexuality studies.
One fan applauded Shah for representing “commuity college folks” on “Jeopardy!”, and Shah responded, “Working at @LowerCC has taught me so much in my teaching there. CCs are so valuable. It’s an honor to be a part of that.”
Several of Shah’s fans on Twitter are also educators, from fellow commuity colleges and big-name universities.
