Penn State associate teaching professor of Spanish Ariana Mikulski often uses a “Jeopardy!”-style trivia game to help her students prepare for exams.

“Anytime I think my students need just a general test review, especially before a final, I think [“Jeopardy!”] is a really great way to recap some of the important topics from the semester,” Mikulski, who joined Penn State’s faculty in 2012 and holds a doctorate degree in second language acquisition, said over the phone. “It’s a game that I like, and I like writing the clues and covering everything for my class.”

She may be used to writing clues, but in February, Mikulski took her place as a contestant behind one of the show’s buzzer-equipped podiums in Culver City, California and answered questions posed by iconic host Alex Trebek. Mikulski’s episode will air tonight on ABC.

Earning a spot as a competitor on the best-known trivia show in America, which only accepts about 300 contestants per year, is no overnight process. Mikulski has competed in trivia competitions since high school, and she first auditioned in person for “Jeopardy!” in 2006. She wasn’t chosen to compete that year, but she took the show’s written test in 2017. She was then invited to another in-person audition in Pittsburgh, where she completed another written test and competed against two other auditionees in a mock game.

Following the Pittsburgh tryout, Mikulski was placed into a pool of possible contestants for a period of 18 months.

“Time went on, and I thought they had pretty much overlooked me,” Mikulski said.

But last January, just as her window was about to close, she was chosen as a contestant. Mikulski had about a month to prepare for the taping of the episode on which she’d compete.

Her primary training resources were DVR’d episodes of the daily program. The footage allowed her to study and acclimate to the style of questioning and clue-writing trends she’d face at Sony Studios.

“I thought it was important to really get familiar and comfortable with some of the patterns they use in the game,” Mikulski said. Watching the show at home also allowed her to recreate and practice the notoriously strict process of buzzing in to answer a question.

Bright studio lights and the prospect of competing for money may presumably combine to create an intimidating atmosphere. But Mikulski said that her fellow contestants were friendly, and the rapid-fire style of the game makes it difficult to focus on nerves.

“The first time you walk out, it is a little bit intimidating,” she said. “Once it got underway…I really kind of forgot there were cameras and an audience looking at me because I was just really trying to focus.”

Mikulski was also able to see a side of the calm Trebek, who was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, during the taping’s scheduled commercial breaks that few viewers are able to experience. During a question-and-answer session with the studio audience, Mikulski learned that the perennial host is quite the handyman around the house.

“We learned that he’s big into DIY projects,” she said. “He showed us a picture…that past weekend, he was ripping up a huge hole in their bathroom floor because he was getting ready to install a bigger tub.”

Mikulski’s episode will air at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 9, on ABC. We’ll keep you posted if she becomes the winningest contestant in Jeopardy! history.