Grace Acton and Alex Trebek. (Courtesy photo)
Bromfield seventh-grader Grace Acton can finally let the cat out of the bag: She’s a Jeopardy! champion.
Out of thousands of hopeful contenders, Acton was one of 15 kids selected to compete in Jeopardy! Kids Week this year. Her winning episode aired last Wednesday, Dec. 3. In all, there were five winners from Kids Week because, unlike regular Jeopardy!, winners do not advance from one game to the next. Acton was the only girl in the winning group.
Watching Jeopardy! together is a regular activity in her family. Acton describes how she and her older sister often “battle” each other to see who can answer more questions correctly. It was while watching the show that Acton first got the idea she wanted to be a contestant. “I have watched Jeopardy! forever,” she said. “And when I saw the ad for Kids Week, I was like, I want to do that. And so I did.”
Not a natural risk-taker
Though she’s not a natural risk-taker, Acton felt confident enough to register to take the 30-question online qualifying test last year. Based on her results, she was invited to a live audition in New York City. In mid-July, just a few weeks after moving to Harvard, Acton received the call saying she had been selected as a Kids Week participant. Because the producers kept calling the family’s old phone number, Acton almost missed her chance, but fortunately she was contacted in time.
“I have to say, the producers and the contestant coordinators were amazing,” says Miriam Smith, Acton’s mother. “So energetic, fun, and they just made everyone feel comfortable. They do such a wonderful job.”
Acton, her parents, and her older sister flew out to Los Angeles for taping in October. The whole week’s worth of episodes were taped the same day. Though she knew she had won her match nearly two months ago, Acton had to promise not to reveal the results until the episode aired. Since October, she’s been deflecting questions from friends, family, and teachers.
The night the episode aired, Acton and her family threw a big party at their house, inviting 70 friends and family members, including Acton’s entire gymnastics team and friends from her old school as well as Bromfield. They had three televisions set up so everyone could see. Everyone cheered her on as they watched Acton on the big screen, an experience she called “weird.”
At the end of the first round, contestant Jake McCrory led the board with $4,100, while Acton held second place with $2,800. Acton was “a little frustrated,” according to her mother.
“They actually had to test our buzzers to make sure they were still working,” Acton explained, “because Gabby [the third contestant] and I had only buzzed in, like, once each.”
Taking top score
By Double Jeopardy, Acton had become comfortable with her buzzer. She took command of the board in the second round and went into Final Jeopardy with $11,600 and the lead.
The Final Jeopardy question was a difficult one, which none of the players answered correctly. With $6,600, Acton nevertheless still held the top score. She brought home a total of $15,000, the minimum purse for a winner of Kids Week.
Though her mother noticed her initial frustration, to an outside observer Acton played with poise and confidence. Her strategy was to not ring in on a question unless she was reasonably sure she knew the answer. That strategy served her well; over the course of the game, Acton had just three incorrect answers. Acton reports that while she was aware of the fluctuations of the score as she played, she wasn’t working to beat the other contestants. “I was thinking about what questions were on the board still.”
The most nerve-wracking part of the whole experience for Acton wasn’t the questions on the board. “I wasn’t too nervous for most of the categories, [though] the Bible category was one I really did not want to get, and it was the very first one that came up.” Rather, Acton was most nervous about her conversation with host Alex Trebek after the first commercial break. “You don’t know what he’s going to ask you about!” Acton declares, her excitement still palpable weeks later. Trebek asked about Acton’s interest in becoming a computer game designer when she grows up. Acton framed her answer generally, though she now explains that what she really wants to do is work for the Nancy Drew computer game designer Her Interactive, “but I wasn’t allowed to say brand names.”
A lover of sci fi and fantasy
Acton did a few practice questions to prepare for her game, but she did not spend much time studying beforehand. “Grace is one of those kids whose nose is always, nonstop, in a book,” her mom reports. She likes science fiction and fantasy. “Harry Potter will always be my favorite,” says Acton. All the contestants at Kids Week had that in common, “like there was a type of kid,” observes her mom.
After the broadcast of her close game and exciting win, the next day at school was a bit surreal. “People that I don’t know from other grades kept saying, ‘Congratulations, Grace.’” Acton’s teachers and administrators were very proud of her accomplishment. She was even called to the principal’s office to talk about her experience.
Acton’s mother beams as she says, “I really feel like her whole experience so far here [in Harvard] has been great. People have been so kind and welcoming, her classmates have all been super supportive, and the teachers have been wonderful.”
“It’s kind of weird” to have so much celebrity so soon after coming to a new school, says Acton. “But everyone’s been really nice and great. Very welcoming.” Because of Acton’s success in Jeopardy!, Bromfield wins a customizable classroom Jeopardy! game. Teachers will be able to use the game to create episodes of Jeopardy! based on their own curriculum content.
Not about the money
Would Acton recommend Jeopardy! to other kids who want to try to compete? “Yes!” she declares without hesitation. “Try to have as much fun with the other kids as you can, and don’t worry about what questions you’re going to get or how much you’re earning. Do it for fun.”
Acton’s mom puts the credit for her daughter’s success squarely on the seventh-grader’s shoulders. “This was entirely her journey. It was something she wanted to do, and we were just along for the ride. Grace was always someone who was comfortable being smart. She’s even more confident [now], knowing it is fine to be a smart girl. Especially to be a girl who really enjoys math; that’s an important thing.”
When asked what she plans to do with her winnings, Acton replies that she and her family are still deciding. “It wasn’t about the money; it was always about doing the experience,” says her mom. Acton guesses that she’ll be putting some of the money toward college, but she might use some to start a backyard project. Her smile beams as she exclaims, “I really want a goat!”
