SACRAMENTO, Calif. — On Thursday night, the familiar chimes and announcer’s voice on ABC’s hit trivia show, “Jeopardy!” will blast from the speakers of millions of televisions and devices across the United States.
As the graphics cut to a wide shot of participants behind podiums, some Sacramento viewers, including those in the home of American River College’s Ed Hashima, will be cheering as a local professor makes his mark on the popular television trivia series.
Hashima has been teaching history at American River College for 22 years, exposing him to a wealth of information and facts, but it was his experiences outside of the classroom where he says he studied the most for the show.
“I've just been somebody who's always been interested in trivia,” Hashima said. “I picked up information that helped me in a game from an Instagram post I saw that a friend of mine had shared.”
For Hashima, an avid "Jeopardy!" viewer and self-described trivia and quiz show fanatic, responding to host Mayim Bialik’s clues was not the hard part.
“One of the things that is the hardest to get used to when you're doing it is, you have to buzz in to be able to respond,” Hashima said. “You know what you know, and you have to figure out how to get in on time.”
One of the best parts about competing, according to Hashima, is being able to share the experience with millions of viewers including those in his own family.
“It's been really fun to be able to share with them,” Hashima said. “I've heard from people that I haven't heard from in decades, and that's just been really great.”
While it is important to know the correct responses to win money, Hashima’s focus while under the bright studio lights was on trusting himself.
“When you see that clue pop up and something you know just is in your head it's probably the right answer,” Hashima said. “You have to go with your instincts because they're almost always right on the money.”
After competing in two previous shows, Hashima will take part in the "Jeopardy!" two-day finals airing Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m. on ABC10.
