Los Angeles, Calif. – Who is Meghan Mello?
That answer – in the form of a question, of course – would be fitting for one athletic trainer who grew up in Burrillville and appeared on a popular game show this week.
Mello was among the contestants on Jeopardy! when it aired on Tuesday, Dec. 6 on WPRI.
An athletic trainer who now works at Precision Athletic Training in Dunstable, Mass., Mello attended high school at Mount St Charles Academy in Woonsocket. She received her undergrad degree from Northeastern University, and attended graduate school at Ohio University.
Mello, who now lives in North Smithfield, tried out for the program and traveled to California to compete, filming on Wednesday, Oct. 12, in advance of the show’s air date.
“I crossed the top item off my bucket list when I was selected for Jeopardy,” Mello noted on social media this week. “This is an absolute dream come true, and I hope you all share in my joy by tuning in.”
When the program aired Tuesday, it was clear Mello had some skilled competition as host Ken Jennings tested the contestants’ knowledge for the chance at cash prizes. The Pacheco Drive resident competed against Andy Tirrell of San Diego, Calif., a political science and international relations professor, and returning champion Cris Pannullo.
As of Monday night’s broadcast Pannullo, a customer success operations manager from Ocean City, NJ, was on a 21-game, $748,286 winning streak.
It was Tirrell who ultimately broke that streak on Tuesday with a win. But Mello held her own, buzzing in with answers against the two tough competitors in the trivia-based game, now in its 38th season.
Tirrell moved on to compete in Wednesday’s aired program.
Editor’s note: The above article was updated following Tuesday night’s broadcast.
RE: Los Angelis, Cali.
First, it’s Los Angeles
Second. it’s California. If you call it Cali you’re either from out of state, a gangster rapper or from thinking of the capital of Colombia.
Best regards
Bob Johnson
North Smithfield High School class of 1974
Resident of Oceanside California
Thank you for letting us know about the typo – corrected above. For “Cali” we meant to use the AP style abbreviation of “Calif.”