During her appearance on the game show Jeopardy! in September 2014, alumna Elizabeth Williams ‘01 demonstrated to a national television audience the value of a liberal arts degree from the College of Charleston.
Elizabeth Williams ’01 Photo: Jeopardy Productions, Inc.
But it wasn’t just her intelligence that got Williams noticed. Thanks to some advanced planning, quick wit and a story about her unique gift, Williams’ win on the show went viral.
Here, Williams shares 4 ways to make your Jeopardy! appearance go viral:
1. Acquire broad knowledge in the liberal arts and sciences.
Before Williams could become a temporary celebrity, she first had to get on the show. And for that, she credits the liberal arts education she received at the College of Charleston.
“I have always been a huge proponent of the value of a good, solid liberal arts education, and I think that at CofC, I received the very best,” she says of her courses that ranged from biology and literature to music, film and religion. “This is what the Jeopardy! qualifying test covers – your ability to be agile in all these disciplines.”
2. Use your College of Charleston degree as a springboard to a diverse career.
Williams, who majored in English with a minor in Latin, says her education helped prepare her for an interesting and enriching career path.
After earning an A.B. degree in 2001, she spent three years working as a newspaper copy editor and page designer in suburban Atlanta and two years teaching Latin at a small private school in Beaufort, S.C., before moving to Tampa, Fla., to pursue a master’s degree in library and information science at the University of South Florida.
“While in graduate school, I had the opportunity to take a summer internship at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, where I worked to arrange and digitize the papers of President Kennedy and several members of his administration – definitely one of the coolest experiences of my life,” she says.
In May 2008, Williams joined PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as a researcher and has worked there ever since.
3. Plan ahead for an epic fail.
Cliff Clavin from “Cheers” competes on Jeopardy!
Williams knew what she’d do if she ever found herself stumped during the Final Jeopardy round:
“I’ve always been a huge “Cheers” fan, and I knew that if I ever made it on to Jeopardy! and I didn’t know the Final Jeopardy answer, I would have to pull out the Cliff Clavin answer.”
The “Cliff Clavin answer” is a reference to a 1990 episode of the long-running television sitcom “Cheers” in which Clavin, played by actor John Ratzenberger, appears as a contestant on Jeopardy! In one memorable scene, Clavin doesn’t know the correct response to the clue in Final Jeopardy!, so he responds, “Who are three people who’ve never been in my kitchen?”
Unable to come up with the correct response in Final Jeopardy! during her own appearance, Williams pulled out the famous Clavin quote. Her quip made headlines on Huffington Post, Yahoo News, MSNBC and other sites and received coverage in USA Today and the Washington Post. The Huffington Post called her “Cheers” reference the “Best Fail Ever.” And her Facebook page blew up with comments.
“I just never thought it would happen. And when it did happen, I certainly didn’t know how much attention it was going to get,” Williams says. “The dust has mostly settled and my 15 minutes are just about up, but wow, what an experience!”
VIDEO: Watch Elizabeth Williams and the ‘best fail ever.‘
Williams with Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek. Photo: Jeopardy Productions, Inc.
4. Have a “quirky” ability.
As Williams shared with Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek during the Q&A portion of the show, she has a neurological condition known as ordinal linguistic personification.
“It’s a form of synesthesia and means that I experience numbers (just the first 10, actually) as having very distinct personalities,” she explains.
For example, she imagines the numeral 8 as very kindly and maternal and 6 as very mischievous and always getting into trouble. She describes 7 as a bit of a Goody Two-Shoes who is always following 6 around saying, “I don’t think 9 is going to like this.”
Williams says she caught some flak on the Internet for what some considered to be an overshare. But she doesn’t regret her decision. “I wanted to give the audience something quirky and interesting,” she says. “Judging from the feedback, it looks like I succeeded.”
Plus, her story provided a segue that made her appearance all the more memorable. The episode in which Williams appeared happened to mark the much-touted return of Trebek’s mustache, following a 13-year hiatus. As Williams explained her unique ability to Trebek, she said that the number 9 “has a mustache, like you.”
