Local teacher gets long-awaited shot at ‘Jeopardy!’

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Steven Evenhouse holds the trivia flash cards that helped him prepare for an appearance on "Jeopardy!" | Jaime Angio~For Sun-TImes Media

Updated: February 23, 2012 8:11AM

And the answer is: This American history teacher will try to win $100,000 on the TV game show “Jeopardy!”

Who is Steve Evenhouse, of Summit Hill Junior High School in Frankfort?

That is correct.

Evenhouse, of Orland Hills, is one of 15 players who will be competing in the “Jeopardy!” Teachers Tournament that is scheduled to air from Feb. 15 to 28. He is to tape his appearance Monday and Tuesday in California.

If Evenhouse wins, he gets the grand prize of $100,000 and a guaranteed spot in the Tournament of Champions, according to a news release from the show’s producer.

Evenhouse said he is “very excited” about being on a show he’s watched since high school. When he got a call with the invitation, “I just started shouting in the car and pounding on the roof,” he said. “I can’t wait. It feels like the pinnacle of the trivia world. It’s kind of nice to see how you stack up. I’d like to think I’m pretty good. Hopefully, I don’t find out otherwise.”

Still, he is somewhat nervous.

“Will I be able to ring in quick enough?” he said. “Or am I going to know all the answers and it’s not going to matter because I can’t work the buzzer? I have all these buzzer-related nightmares flashing before my eyes.

“I’m nervous about if ‘William Shakespeare’ is going to show up (as a category) there because that’s a weak area. So I’ve been doing a lot of reading and taking online quizzes whenever I can. I told my whole family to send me any question you come across, and they’ve been pretty good about it.”

To get on the show, he said he did well on an online exam and an in-person audition. He passed another, did well in a mock version of the show, and sailed through one final interview with producers.

“I’ve been trying to get on the show since I was in college,” said Evenhouse, 32. “I’ve tried for 10 years, taking the online tests. I’ve been studying for a long time.

“I’ve competed in local tournaments, too. I have a big file cabinet at home filled with stuff. I have lists and books all over the house. I help our Scholastic Bowl team at school and keep those questions and answers, too.”

His biggest fan may be his wife, Lori Evenhouse, a choir teacher at Parker Junior High School in Flossmoor.

“She encourages me and is always asking me questions,” he said.

Growing up in Tinley Park, Evenhouse started watching “Jeopardy!” in junior high and playing trivia games.

“I’ve always loved trivia. ‘Trivial Pursuit,’ ‘Jeopardy!,’ ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire,’ all those shows. I just can’t get enough,” he said.

ABC-TV has filmed 170 students at the school, sitting in bleachers in the gymnasium, wishing him good luck, he said.

“Based on what I saw last year, they try to have questions that are teacher-themed,” Evenhouse said. “It’s got to be a great way to get kids interested in the show. I think they’re going to look forward to seeing their teachers and hopefully see them do well.

“My students are pretty excited. I have a pretty good relationship with my students, so they’ve been real supportive. A lot of them have come in with questions and things like that, and for Christmas, one student gave me a Cubs wallet to hold all the money I’m going to win.”

His trip is paid for by “Jeopardy!” So win or lose, he’ll be out there having fun in the warm California sun.

“If nothing else,” he said, “at least I get a free trip.”