Silver Spring, MD (3/20/09)--Social studies teacher Kara Mohler won $23,199 on a Jeopardy! episode that aired Tuesday, March 3 and continued as the returning champion on the Wednesday, March 4 episode.

Ms. Mohler got on the show by trying out online and then auditioning in person in Washington, DC. "I was ecstatic when I found out," she says. "I’ve wanted to go on forever."

Ms. Mohler was on the It’s Academic team in high school, which for her was the greatest preparation for Jeopardy! "It gets you used to knowing things fast," she says, which is key, because "most people know the answers to most of the questions; it’s just a matter of timing and luck."

She adds, "I’ve always loved history and I have a good memory, so that didn’t hurt either."

While on set, Ms. Mohler met many new people, including Alex Trebek, the show’s host. "The other contestants were all really nice," she says. "You spend all day with these people, so it’s not the end of the world if you lose."

The contestant coordinators—the people who pick the contestants—also stood out to her. "They try to make everyone feel like one big, happy family," she says.

However, being on set was also freezing, so she had to wear a jacket. She says, "The studio is smaller than I thought, but it’s very nicely decorated and the board is just as awesome looking in person, if not more so."

When she was in the game, one wrong answer was really disappointing for Ms. Mohler: she missed a Double Jeopardy question during her second episode about a Rudyard Kipling novel, because she had never read any of his books. She adds, "[It] could have won me the game."

At the start of the second episode, Ms. Mohler was nervous "because they put me up against the two fastest guys from rehearsal, but once the game got started it was fine." And although she lost the second time, she was "relieved that I wouldn’t have to come home a loser, and extremely happy that I had won some money."

In the end, Ms. Mohler adds, "Anyone could have won, but I’m glad it was me!"