JOHNSTOWN, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Theater Arts for 500! Local assistant professor from Fulton Montgomery Community College (FMCC) is living out his dream appearing on Jeopardy on an upcoming episode.

Jason Radalin is a current assistant professor of theater arts, film studies, and english at FMCC. As an educator and scholar, Radalin surely has some great knowledge, and the professor is no stranger to the world of Jeopardy. He has loved the show for the past 35 years and plays along while watching. He always thought it would be a blast to actually be on the show. Little did he know his dreams were going to come true.

The professor got his chance this year, but it took a while to actually come to fruition. He explains the process of getting on Jeopardy starts with the Jeopardy Anytime Test which is a timed online trivia test. Radalin took the test during the Summer of 2020 and states if the show is interested in you, they’ll give you an audition. Radalin was invited to audition and explains it consisted of an actual Jeopardy game against other potential contestants. After the audition, the professor was in a “contestant pool” for 18 months and could receive a call at any time that they wanted him to be on the show. Radalin’s call came at the beginning of October giving him the chance to compete on Jeopardy.

As an assistant professor studying and telling others to do their studies was natural for Radalin. He explains the show doesn’t tell you anything in advance about what kinds of categories or questions to expect. Radalin states, “I guess you could say I have been preparing during my 35 years of watching the show.” He explains he did do some studying of two subjects that with his knowledge of Jeopardy, he knew traditionally showed up. Being a professor of the humanities, Radalin knew geography and science would be blind spots, leading him to study the two subjects prior to the show

Overall, Radalin said it was a blast being on the show. If you want to watch Radalin compete, tune into Jeopardy Tuesday, December 20.