Franey, a biosystems engineering senior, will appear this summer on “Jeopardy!,” the Daytime Emmy-award-winning quiz show where contestants use clues to answer in the form of questions.

“We don’t have it confirmed (that it’s the first time anyone wore a hat), but I definitely think so,” Franey said of her historic headwear. “I got a new hat in Madison. It was a really nice hat and I asked if I could wear it and they said yes.”

Franey participated in the 2008 Jeopardy! College Championship on April 11 and 12 at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wis. She was one of 15 college students to appear in the tournament and was narrowed down from one of the 14,000 students who applied online.

Although Franey can’t reveal how she fared in the tournament, she does know her episode will air May 9.

Franey, an MSU quiz bowl member, said the opportunity to appear on “Jeopardy!” seemed like a fun idea.

“There was an online test that a friend convinced me to take,” Franey said. “I thought it would be pretty sweet to be on ‘Jeopardy!.’”

After applying online and achieving a high enough score, Franey was entered into a lottery and auditioned in Chicago. She found out that she was selected to appear on the show about two weeks before filming started.

Once on set, Franey said the other contestants weren’t what she expected.

“Everyone was extremely nice and outgoing,” Franey said. “It barely mattered who won.”

Although the unexpected camaraderie was nice, Franey said she was still nervous.

“Once you actually start the game and the questions are rolling and you’re just thinking about one thing, you don’t even notice that there are a bunch of people out there.”

Aren Hellum, a mechanical engineering graduate student who accompanied Franey to Wisconsin, said the atmosphere was unlike that of a normal “Jeopardy!” show.

“Because it was the college tournament, there was a lot more people there,” Hellum said. “The Wisconsin band was there and so was their mascot.”

Nalin Lalwani, a biochemistry and molecular biology junior who also joined Franey, said he enjoyed “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek, and agreed with Franey’s assessment of the other contestants.

“Alex is a very interesting guy and a lot of fun to be around,” Lalwani said.

Franey said she prepared by studying geography and famous people from Madison because of the show’s location.

In terms of question-and-answer logistics, she said the infamous “Jeopardy!” button was slightly problematic.

“The button system is unpredictable,” Franey said.

“You never know if you’re going to answer.”