GERMANTOWN, Tenn. — Before a Shelby County senior heads to Harvard, she is making a pit stop on the legendary game show, Jeopardy!
“I’ve been trying to read up on sports knowledge, because I actually don’t have a lot of that,” said Germantown High School student Apurva Kanneganti.
As a Harvard-bound, high school valedictorian, there is probably not much trivia that could trip the 16-year-old up.
She is packing her bags for Washington, D.C. to compete on Jeopardy’s Teen Tournament.
Kanneganti’s dad got the call a few weeks ago.
“He was like, ‘I have really good news! You’re going to be on Jeopardy,'” she recalled.
Kanneganti passed an online test and nailed an in-person interview in North Carolina.
She said that in a way, she has been preparing for this opportunity awhile.
“I play Knowledge Bowl at school, and my subject areas that I’m in charge of are actually really good for Jeopardy. It’s history and lit,” she said.
Kanneganti got perfect scores on both her ACT and SAT.
The National Merit Finalist was offered full rides to different colleges but committed to Harvard in December.
As far as where these accomplishments stack up?
“Jeopardy’s actually really up there, because it’s my first time being on national television, and I’m frankly kind of terrified,” she said.
Kanneganti said the show will film next week. She said the tournament will air between September 12-23.
You can catch the tournament on WREG.
