Medland will be seen competing against fellow students from University of California-Los Angeles and Ithaca (NY) College. Other students in the Jeopardy! series are enrolled at Amherst (MA) College, University of Illinois, Georgetown (Wash. DC) University, and others.

Medland is a junior from Flint and member of the Honors Institute and the Gerald R. Ford Institute for Public Policy and Service at Albion College, carrying a 3.98 grade point average on a four-point scale. A look-a-like for television actor Noah Wiley (NBC drama ER ) Medland says he made friends with the other student competitors. But that once the cameras were on and the games began those friendships became secondary.

“The people were all friendly and outgoing,” Medland told The Pleiad, Albion College’s student newspaper. “Once the game starts though you forget how you’ve gotten to know them.”

Medland and the other fourteen students compete for $75,000 worth of college scholarships and a brand new Volvo automobile. The champion takes home the car and a $50,000 scholarship, while the second place finisher receives a $15,000 scholarship, and third place $10,000. Volvo also pledged an additional $50,000 in scholarships to the colleges of the top three contestants.

Five first-round games featuring three students each were videotaped the first day of Medland’s trip. Those shows air Feb. 7-11. The second round airs Feb. 14-16, featuring the top five finishers and the four highest second place contestants. Those nine players compete in three shows for a place in the three-contestant, two-game final match Feb. 17-18.

All that begs the question, “How did Kurt do?”

Medland and the other competitors won’t say, having pledged to Jeopardy! producers they’d keep their success secret until after the shows air.

But Kurt has said cryptically this: “It was a lot of fun, and I did fairly well.”

Additional Information:

Albion College students and its president also gain exposure on the Feb. 10 national broadcast. Prior to taping of the College Championship episodes, Albion College President Peter T. Mitchell and about 400 students supplied Jeopardy! with a videotaped 10-second cheer in support of Medland. It will air during Thursday’s game.

The College is also preparing the Kellogg Center (student union) for a campus- and community wide Jeopardy! viewing party during Thursday’s televised episode.

For general information on Jeopardy! College Championships online, click here.

For an online image of Kurt Medland and access to the Albion College video cheer, click here.

For photos of Medland’s visit to Jeopardy! online, click here.

Medland coverage in Jackson Citizen Patriot newspaper (1)
Medland in Jackson Citizen Patriot (2)
Medland in Jackson Citizen Patriot (3)
Medland in Flint Journal

Back to Campus News

.