#SoCaltech: Toussaint Pegues

"I took the test soon after Alex Trebek died, thinking, 'I might as well give it a shot.' The test is online, so you can take it anytime. And anyone who’s interested might as well try it: worst-case scenario is you waste 15 minutes, but you also might end up on the show. Most of the questions were harder than the ones on the show because they want to be sure you can do well in the actual game. I’ve seen different numbers in different places, but at least 6,000 college students took the initial test but by the time I went in to tape the show in November it was down to a few dozen quarterfinalists. I didn’t have a study strategy; I was pretty chill. I went in with the knowledge I already had and did my best. I knew the answers to more questions than I got to answer, but the categories weren’t quite my strong suit, certainly no engineering questions. But still, the whole thing was pretty cool."

Toussaint M. Pegues, a senior in mechanical engineering and Ricketts House president, won $10,000 by reaching the quarterfinals of the Jeopardy! National College Championship in February. 

#SoCaltech is an occasional series celebrating the diverse individuals who give Caltech its spirit of excellence, ambition, and ingenuity. Know someone we should profile? Send nominations to magazine@caltech.edu.