CC student on 'Jeopardy!' tonight

Answer: A Colorado College senior who's going to stare down Alex Trebek today on "Jeopardy!" which airs at 6:30 p.m. on KKTV/Channel 11.

Question: Who is Kristina Caffrey?

Caffrey's brush with fame and fortune has been a long time coming. She took an online test for the popular game show back in January 2007, did an in-person interview in November and actually taped her appearance Nov. 27-28.

She can't reveal how she did, but Caffrey said it was a fun experience, at least the parts she can recall.

"I don't remember a lot - it happened very fast and I was nervous and excited so I don't remember a lot of the actual game," said the Albuquerque, N.M., native.

The trickiest thing, she said, was mastering the buzzer. After Trebek, the host, finishes a question, a production assistant triggers a light and only then can the contestants buzz in. Anticipating that light was at least as hard as the questions, she said.

"There were questions I knew and I didn't buzz in at the right time, so other people got it," she said. "It didn't end up being that big a deal."

The show taped five episodes a day, randomly selecting contestants from a pool waiting in the audience. Caffrey sat out the first day, so she had a chance to watch the action, then got her turn on the second day.

"They tell you to bring three sets of clothes" so each episode looks different, she said. "I just brought three shirts and kept the same pair of pants."

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