Yorktown High School graduate Quentin Powers is appearing on “Jeopardy!” tomorrow (Tuesday) following his return from U.S. Peace Corps service abroad.
Powers, 25, will be one of three contestants on the episode airing at 7:30 p.m. on WJLA-TV. The 2018 Yorktown graduate said he auditioned for the game show while serving in the Peace Corps in East Timor, an island nation located in southeast Asia.
He got the offer to participate after returning to the U.S. in December.
“It was just so surreal, finally getting to see the stage after watching ‘Jeopardy!’ for so many years,” Powers told ARLnow. “It was great to have that experience, super special to meet Ken Jennings … and just be in that atmosphere with all these other great quiz players and trivia nerds.”
To prepare for the game show, Powers took lots of trivia quizzes and focused on topics he considered his weak subjects. He credits his education in Arlington Public Schools with preparing him for the challenge.
“I would totally credit Yorktown and Arlington Public Schools and all the great educators I had throughout elementary school and high school,” said Powers, who did not attend middle school in Arlington. “The classes I took there helped foster curiosity, and just, they taught me so much and prepared me for ‘Jeopardy!'”
Powers is now living in North Arlington again. In East Timor from October 2023 through November 2025, Powers taught English at public middle and high schools.
“It was an incredible experience, just being able to integrate in a new culture, to learn a new language and to meet some of the most generous, hospitable people in the world,” Powers said. “I was super, super grateful that I had the opportunity to serve as a volunteer and hopefully help inspire some kids over there.”
Powers, who majored in international relations at the University of Michigan, hopes to work in international relations at a non-governmental organization.
He’s not the only local resident to compete on “Jeopardy!” in recent years. Arlingtonian Susan Stumme, a senior editor at the news agency Agence France-Presse, took home over $14,000 in an episode that aired in November 2024.
