Rolling Meadows resident will appear on 'Jeopardy!' Friday

The answer: This is a "very cool experience" and a bucket list item Rolling Meadows resident Michelle Kritselis says she always wanted to do.

The question: What is her appearance on the legendary television game show "Jeopardy!"?

Kritselis, 32, a managing editor for the American Marketing Association, went to Culver City, California, in August to tape at least one appearance on the show. She can't reveal how she did and whether she advanced to multiple days, but television viewers will be able to see for themselves starting Friday.

"Jeopardy!" airs locally at 3:30 p.m. on ABC 7 Chicago.

"I was extremely nervous, but I think I did an OK job at concealing my nervousness," said Kritselis, adding that it was "surreal" to arrive to the Sony Pictures Television studios for the taping.

Kritselis tried out for the show in July 2015 in Tampa, Florida, while there on vacation with her husband. Show producers didn't call until nearly two years later to tell her she had been selected.

"I thought (the audition) went OK, but I didn't think, 'Oh man, I nailed it, I'm going to be on the show,'" she said.

Kritselis, a Naperville native who graduated from Waubonsie Valley High School, started watching "Jeopardy!" at a young age with her parents. Her best category is theater, since she has two college degrees in the subject and is co-founder of Brown Paper Box Co., a Chicago-based theater company.

She's planning a watch party at work Friday afternoon, then having friends over in the evening to watch again.

"No one except my husband knows the outcome of the game," she said.