Algonquin librarian to be on Jeopardy! Thursday

Answer: She's a youth services librarian from Algonquin who will appear on Jeopardy! Thursday.

Question: Who is Jen Jazwinski?

Correct!

Jazwinski, who has worked at the Algonquin Area Public Library for about 10 years, called her appearance on the show "a lifelong dream come true."

"I've watched the show with my family since I was a kid and I've been taking the online test for years," she said. "I've actually auditioned twice before."

Her most recent audition landed her on an episode that was shot March 31 with guest host Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

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

Jazwinski said she found out she was going to be on the show less than a month before her appearance. She said she prepared by reading "The Jeopardy! Book" and having her husband give her geography quizzes during their neighborhood walks.

The one topic she hoped not to get?

"Sports," she said. "I hate to be the cliché, but I was really hoping for no sports."

Her co-workers said they weren't surprised she made it on the show.

"Jen is my brilliant friend," said fellow librarian Kimberly Damitz, whose desk in right behind Jazwinski's. "Whenever I want to know anything, I turn around and say 'Hey Jen,' and I ask her my question and she is right about 98% of the time."

Jazwinski said while she "felt so lucky to be there," there was one downside to appearing on the show while the pandemic was still ongoing.

"Because of COVID, there was no studio audience," she said. "So I wasn't able to share it with my husband and my parents, which was really hard for everybody."

Still, Jazwinski said it was the "experience of a lifetime."

And what does one do, now that her lifetime dream has been achieved?

"We've been watching 'The Chase,'" she said. "Maybe I'll try for that."