Nursing student Molly Lalonde was a four-night winner on episodes of the game show Jeopardy! that aired in June. A pediatric primary-care nurse practitioner student, Lalonde completed her master鈥檚 course work in August.
Lalonde鈥檚 earnings on the show totaled $55,300. She described her experience in a blog post:
鈥淲hen I arrived in California and walked on the set, I think I finally appreciated one of the unwritten lessons of nursing school, which is how to appear confident while actually being completely freaked out about something you are about to do. You quickly learn that when you鈥檙e walking into a patient鈥檚 room to start an IV or insert a catheter, you have to mask your fear with a smile and hide your shaking hands through sheer willpower or the patient will send you packing before you can even begin.鈥�
A native of Nevada who received her undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame, Lalonde also learned that the Jeopardy! categories can be deceptive: She washed out in answering questions about her home state, but aced questions about Caribbean cooking.
鈥淲hen the category 鈥楪lands and Organs鈥� came up, I reasoned that I probably would either do really well or embarrass myself to the point where would be checking to see if I needed a remedial anatomy and physiology course,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hankfully, I ended up answering every question in that category, which was great for me and will likely also be reassuring to any patients I treat in the future.鈥�
Lalonde is no stranger to the rigor and emotional stamina required to succeed on the long-running program billed as 鈥淎merica鈥檚 favorite quiz show.鈥� At 菠萝视频 she held the full-tuition Laura Catherine Rankin Memorial Scholarship and was a member of the VUSN Graduate Student Council, serving as a liaison among graduate students, professional students, faculty and administration.
by Lalonde about her Jeopardy! experience.