If the answer is, “This Fayetteville resident and teacher at Rogers Heritage High will appear on Jeopardy this week,” what do you think the question is?
If you said, “Who is Cody Vest,” you’d be correct.
Vest, along with fellow Heritage teacher Mary Parker, will both appear on the long-running game show as part of their annual Teacher’s Tournament this week.
Vest, who teaches English but also coaches the High School Quiz Bowl team, said he took an online test a little over a year ago, and got a call to audition for the show. He also played a mock game as part of the casting process, and was later notified that he’d been selected as a contestant.
“I got the call in December 2016, and went out to Los Angeles to film in March,” he said.
The experience, he said, was kind of a dream come true for him.
“I have always wanted to be on Jeopardy! for just about as long as I can remember,” Vest said. “I can remember wanting to try out for the teen tournament back when I was 13 years old. Trivia has just always been a central part of my life.”
One of the highlights, he said, was meeting the charismatic, longtime host of the show, Alex Trebek.
“He was really nice,” Vest said. “You always hear he can be sarcastic but he jokes around with you and pokes fun at you in a nice way.”
Parker’s episode of the show is set to air tonight (Tuesday, May 9), and Vest’s will air on Wednesday, May 10. The show begins at 4:30 p.m. daily, and runs on CBS.
