GVSU Professor On ‘Jeopardy!’ Tonight

37-year-old Grand Valley State University English professor appearing on 'Jeopardy!' tonight.

Who is Ashley Shannon?

'Jeopardy!' takes a local twist tonight when GVSU's Ashley Shannon appears on the show.

Will her clicker work?  Will she draw a picture on the screen of her Final Jeopardy answer screen?  Will she win?  She has been sworn to secrecy, so nobody knows.

Mlive.com has more details on the show and how it runs behind the scenes:

"It's very fast-moving,” Shannon said. “Everything is taped in real time, so it unfolds exactly as you see it on the air, with commercial breaks being the only downtime.”

Becoming a contestant involves both skill and luck, beginning by scoring well on an online test. From that pool, contestants are picked randomly and invited to audition in person. Though the show's filmed in Los Angeles, Shannon traveled to New York City or her live audition.

“You take a written test, and then play a sample game and do some back-and-forth chatter with the producers so they can get a sense of how you'd be as an on-air personality,” she said.

After that, contestants are sent home and told they could hear from the producers any time within the next 18 months. Or never.

Belated good luck to Shannon tonight.