David Menchaca, a 26-year-old student at Boston College Law School who hails from Long Beach, earned a big payout on Jeopardy! by winning a grand total of $115,503 as a five-day champion.
“I never expected to do that well. It felt incredible and a bit unreal,” Menchaca said. “I came on hoping to win at least one game and perhaps $20,000 if I was lucky. The fact that I did so well is an immense validation.”
Menchaca has wanted to be on Jeopardy! for years and qualified after trying out his first time — though he admits that he didn’t study much for the competition. “Law school didn’t give me a whole lot of time,” he said. “The majority of my studies involved looking at the large world map in my room and reading through a trivia book on the plane ride to Los Angeles for the taping.”
An avid reader, Menchaca credits his natural curiosity and education for his success on the show. He earned a Bachelors of Arts in music and anthropology from Amherst College and is expected to graduate from Boston College Law School in 2014. In his free time, Menchaca enjoys traveling, music, food, and, of course, amassing vast quantities of trivia by reading. He is also a classically trained vocalist.
Regarding his winnings, he plans to use most of it to pay off his student loans and to travel either to London or Italy.