Two Tufts alumni are competing in the same episode of the quiz show
Ben Meyerson, A16, (right) will go up against Justin Robbins, A17, (left) who is on a two-game win streak. Photo: Courtesy of Justin Robbins and Ben Meyerson
Clue: This university has two graduates appearing on Jeopardy! tonight.
Response: What is Tufts?
Correct!
Justin Robbins, A17, is returning to the television quiz show after winning a total of $38,802 on Monday and Tuesday’s episodes. Tonight, he’ll be competing against Ben Meyerson, A16, who graduated a year before him.
Although the two overlapped at Tufts, Robbins, who majored in biology and history, and Meyerson, an English major, hadn’t crossed paths until they met in the Jeopardy! studios.
The alums’ journeys to Jeopardy! were years in the making—they both applied, went through rounds of auditions, and then a long period of silence, unsure if they’d ever get the call to compete.
Meyerson, who works in political consulting, said he could “feel it in the air” that it was Jeopardy! ringing.
“At the end of the audition, they said, ‘Great. Thanks so much. We'll keep your name on file for two years,’” Meyerson said. “And then 23 months and two weeks later, I got a call from an L.A. area code. In a woo-woo kind of way, I was just like—I think this is Jeopardy!.”
Robbins, who is now a graduate student at Clemson University, reacted to his call with bewildered excitement. “What’s that The Office GIF? ‘Alright. It’s happening, people. Everyone stay calm.’ I tried my best to stay composed.”
He said meeting fellow contestants who were filming different episodes the same day felt like “college orientation.”
Meyerson agreed. “All the contestants were cheering each other on,” he said. “It’s really sweet and wholesome. Everyone wants everyone to do well.”
What’s it like to grace the iconic Jeopardy! stage?
“It’s surreal,” Meyerson said. “It’s a mix of excitement and anxiety, and then severe impostor syndrome hits. Almost immediately, it's like, ‘Oh my god. Am I really going to do this?’”
His approach to calming down? Going in with “the most golden retriever energy” he could. “I went in just wanting to have a good time and meet interesting people. If I do that, then that’s winning to me,” he said.
Already now a Jeopardy champion, Robbins said all the preparation on learning how to use the buzzer, wagering, and of course, studying trivia categories, steadied him. His anxiety melted away when the game began.
“On stage, it just felt perfect,” he said. “Trivia isn’t trivial to me. This is our culture and our world—our laws of motion. You actually do have what it takes, and then some.”
While their appearance on the show together wasn’t planned, Robbins said it’s not a coincidence Tufts produced two Jeopardy! contestants, as students are a part of a community that values learning and discovering new things.
“I think it speaks to what [Tufts students] want out of the college experience,” Robbins said.
Viewers can tune in to tonight’s episode on their local station to see if one of the two Jumbos comes out on top.
Update: The episode of Jeopardy! aired on Sept. 30, 2026.
