A Princeton ‘Jeopardy!’ mastermind: Who is Jamie Ding ’13?

In every one of his appearances on “Jeopardy!,” Jamie Ding ’13 can be seen wearing some form of orange. 

At 27 consecutive wins and with upwards of $700,000 in prize money to date, Ding holds a place in the top five all-time victories for regular-season play on “Jeopardy!.” 

Ding’s passion for trivia started as a young child and developed at Princeton, where he was a molecular biology major, member of Quadrangle Club, and a staffer in the Copy and Multimedia teams of The Daily Princetonian. Ding auditioned as a high schooler for the “Jeopardy!” Teen Tournament and participated in the 2004 National Geographic Bee hosted by Alex Trebek. At Princeton, Ding joined the Quiz Bowl team and served as its president in his junior year. Ding credits the University’s liberal arts curriculum in helping him broaden his knowledge base. 

“I really like learning about the world in general and all that is in it, and Princeton is a great place to do that,” he explained in an interview with the ‘Prince.’ “If there’s any thread that can be drawn from my time at Princeton, it’s just an eclectic array of interests.” 

Ding pointed to clues that referenced both Nassau Hall and his Princeton research. “There was a $2,000 clue about foxglove, and that actually relates to what I did for my senior thesis,” he said. 

He added that conversations with friends from a diverse range of departments were influential in getting him to pursue his interests. “At a place like Princeton, in every single department, everybody is a nerd, like they care about learning and the things that they do, and you can pick up on that passion.”

Friends of Ding who have watched his runs have been unsurprised by his success. “I’ve always known Jamie was really good at trivia. I feel vindicated,” said Dat Nguyen ’13, a close friend of Ding since their Princeton Preview. 

Another friend, Julia Blount ’12 explained, “I think under pressure, he can remain chill, which is the other part, right? Part of it is a mental game as well as facts.” 

As a former member of Quadrangle Club, Jamie occasionally joins fellow alumni on Zoom who hold watch-parties of his “Jeopardy!” episodes. “Some of his wagers are nods to us, like little inside jokes about certain numbers,” explained Stephanie Ochoa ’12, an alumna of Quadrangle club who hosts the watch-parties. Quad members “develop a fondness for the number 33 because it’s our building number,” she continued. Ding bet $33 on the final question in his first appearance on “Jeopardy!” on March 13. 

Ochoa is one of many in a community of friends that speak of Ding’s character with affection. Blount commented that the different friends and family members Ding mentions in his anecdotes on the show are a “testament to the way he cares about people, gets to know people, values people. He really is as humble and kind as he comes across on the screen.”

Ding works as a program administrator at the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance agency, which constructs affordable housing units in New Jersey. He describes his motivation for this work as being “interested in policy and helping people, using government to help people, and building a better world.” 

This passion for government drew Ding back to Seton Hall Law school as a member of their Class of 2027. Ding explained that his interest in law stems from the desire to use legal knowledge to advance policy. Ding compared his aspiration to build a better world with Princeton’s unofficial motto: “In the Nation’s Service and the Service of Humanity.”

“I think that’s a good idea to follow,” Ding said. “I’m not sure how often we get it right, but I think it’s good — I think we should try.”

This effort is recognized by those around him. “He’s one of those rare people who honestly believes in making the world a better place. And that’s what I admire about him the most,” Nguyen said. 

As Ding continues on a record-setting win-streak on “Jeopardy!,” his friends look forward to following along, finding excitement in various aspects of Ding’s play. 

“I personally enjoyed some of the big swings he took in some of his Final Jeopardies,” said Ochoa, referring to Ding’s large wagers on the final questions of each “Jeopardy!” episode. “They haven’t always panned out, but he has the knowledge base to back it up. So one of these days, he’s definitely going to hit it out of the park,” she continued. 

Friends noted that they even found certain aspects of Ding’s run amusing. “Jamie is generally not a fan of puns. When we use puns, he likes to roll his eyes at us, and so we’ve been enjoying when the category is a pun, he has to read all of the answers in puns,” Blount explained. 

No matter the form, Ding’s eclectic interests motivate his excitement to play trivia. He praised the “Jeopardy!” writers, explaining that even when he answered a question incorrectly, he still felt he came away learning something interesting. 

Ding summed up his experience on stage. “For Jeopardy, the best way to prepare is to just be a curious person that’s always looking to learn things and, hopefully, remember some of them.”

Hannah Adams is a Features contributor for the ‘Prince.’

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