UCSB grad student wins money on Jeopardy for second time

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – A U.C. Santa Barbara grad student just made her second appearance on Jeopardy.

Kristen Thomas-McGill, who is working on her doctorate in history, won more than $25,000 dollars on Jeopardy during the COVID pandemic.

Thomas-McGill said she almost missed the telephone call that invited her back to play in the Tournament of Champions Wildcard.

Her show aired on on Monday night.

She didn't win first place but she won another $5,000.

"I was playing a little looser, I was buzzing in on things I wasn't as sure about, I had some big misses and goofy mistakes, right, just not reading the questions right and losing a lot of money on that," said Thomas-McGill. "But for people who want to play; I would say, just read as much as you can. It is not as much about memorization, it's being curious."

Thomas-McGill who is from Kentucky said she is a saver.

She is still saving her first winnings and plans to add her recent winnings to that in hopes of buying a house one day.