When “Jeopardy!” begins airing its annual National College Championship, Notre Dame will have someone to root for. Senior Matt Downing of Ronkonkoma, New York, is one of 36 college students competing in this year’s tournament. He will appear in one of two quarterfinal matches Feb. 10 on ABC. The match also will feature students from Georgia and Pomona College.
Just by being in the field for the $250,000 grand prize, Downing has guaranteed himself at least $10,000 and also joined the ranks of a select few. He is the fifth Notre Dame student to compete in the tournament and the first since November 2010. Patrick Tucker won the tournament in 2009, and two others have finished as the second runner-up.
Downing is majoring in both marketing and applied and computational mathematics and statistics. Among the organizations he is involved with on campus are the men’s boxing club, Camp Kesem and the Student International Business Council. After graduating, he will be employed at KPMG, where he interned last summer.
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