Adam Hoskins never thought he’d hear Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek utter his name. But there Hoskins was, standing on the Jeopardy! platform, which he said was smaller than he had imagined when he was growing up, watching the show on TV every day after school.
Hoskins said he earned a lot of titles throughout the years — Truman State alumnus, Columbia native, attorney, and now contestant and former winner on Jeopardy!.
Hoskins took the Jeopardy! test once a year for the past five years and was not contacted for an interview to be on the show. He said that all changed Nov. 11, the moment he got a call at his office from an unknown California number.
“My reaction was one of disbelief,” Hoskins said. “On Veterans Day I was alone in the office and got a call from a California number I didn’t recognize. It was out of the clear, blue sky. I was shocked. It felt surreal.”
After taking the online test and receiving the call, Hoskins said he was interviewed in Kansas City, Missouri, to be a possible contestant. He said usually only about 15-20 percent of people selected for an interview get on the show. Hoskins said he didn’t have high hopes, but he managed to secure himself a spot on the show.
Hoskins said he attributed part of his success to having attended Truman, where a large emphasis was placed on having a broad range of knowledge because of the liberal arts education. While at Truman, he said he took a wide variety of classes from jazz, to political science, to economics.
“Jeopardy! requires a breadth of lots of subjects, so I feel like I know a little bit about a lot of things,” Hoskins said.
To read more about the Jeopardy! winner, pick up the latest issue of The Index.