$25,000 winner

A life-long dream of Hans von Walter, 21, of Avon Park, came true this year when he competed in the 2010 "Jeopardy College Championship," representing Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, Tenn.

He took third place, going home with $25,000 before taxes.

Von Walter is a senior at Southern with the ambition of possibly becoming a heart surgeon after he attends the Loma Linda University School of Medicine in Loma Linda, Calif. He is presently a biochemistry major.

But bigger than that, since age 7, he dreamt of being a contestant on "Jeopardy," and over time he prepared for it. His dream came true when a caller from Sony Picture Studios in Culver City, Calif., let him know he had been picked for the show.

"I called my mom," he said. "When I told her she was pretty excited, because usually when I call her it's because I need something."

He was proud to represent Southern, the smallest college selected, especially with so many major universities across the country represented.

"I thought it was cool to be up there with Yale and Florida State and all these big colleges," he said.

Getting picked as a contestant is not an easy thing.

"The numbers the producers gave us was something like 10,000 took the online audition test, and then from that they chose 300 people to go for in-person auditions," von Walter said Monday.

"They had them all around the country. I went to the one in North Carolina, in Raleigh. They also held them in Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia. Luckily, my dad lives in South Carolina... And then from those 300 people, they picked 15 contestants for the televised college tournament with host Alex Trebek."

Von Walter described Trebek as a really nice guy.

"He was always really good," he said. "A lot of people told me on the show it seemed like he really liked me. He was good at keeping us relaxed, telling jokes..."

Von Walter surpassed many of his fellow contestants by responding to Jeopardy answers like this. Topic: The Oscar goes to! Answer: He directed Schindler's list. Question: Who is Spielberg?

And as easy as that, von Walter had his first $200 for that day. Over the course of the shows, he walked away with $25,000; about $22,000 after taxes.

Behind the scenes

The whole collegiate program was filmed in two days in October, while the shows in which Hans appeared aired on Nov. 9, 16, 18 and 19.

"They taped five episodes in one day," he said. "So the first day was when they taped all the quarter-finals.

"We arrived at the studio at about 8 o'clock in the morning. They had us go straight into makeup, which was an interesting experience for me and to sign some contracts."

They went out and filmed some promotional material for the show and played some practice games for the show. They got a briefing on the rules. Taping began at about 11 a.m.

There is a certain way you need to buzz in, he said.

"Otherwise you're going to be locked out by the other contestants," he said. "When you play your actual game, you see a lot of things the home audience doesn't see."

It's not just about having the knowledge, he said. There is also strategy involved picking the topic and having quick reflexes.

When you buzz in, what actually happens is you have to wait for Trebek to finish reading the question. On both sides of the game board are two strips of lights. If you buzz in before those lights light up, you get locked out of the question.

"So it's a delicate balance between figuring out when you know it and when it's time to buzz in," he said.

Some deliberations on answers took 10 to 15 minutes by the show's judges but it seemed seamless when the show aired.

They were kept back stage until their turn came. There was food provided and movies shown.

"We were actually always sequestered from our parents so we were never allowed to talk to our parents or family members, so the only people we could basically to talk to all day were the contestants."

They all became extremely good friends because that kind of forced togetherness formed a tight bond.

"I still keep in touch with them on Facebook," he said.

There is even talk among the contestants to get together and have a reunion somewhere.

"It's really cool because it's not like I got there and they were all nerds or something," he said. "They are just regular kids who got together, who like trivia."

Trebek only came out during the tapings so there was no backstage contact.

He has no secret memory trick and can't really explain how he is able to retrieve these bits of information. He just knows things.

"People have described me like a human sponge," he said. "I just absorb everything I learn and it sticks."

He remembered one question he was asked in Jeopardy.

"I answered it and I thought, how did I know that?" he said.

Here's the question. Who is the woman who founded Planned Parenthood?

"I remembered it was Margret Sanger from some biography I watched once when I was like 12 years old."

To watch the shows on YouTube, go to YouTube and type in Hans von Walter, or type in http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Hans+von+Walter&aq=f