Teen winner of ‘Jeopardy!’ donates part of his winnings to cancer research in Alex Trebek’s honor
After Avi Gupta, an 18-year-old from Portland, Oregon, outsmarted his peers during the “Jeopardy!” teen tournament this summer, the “Final Jeopardy” was giving back.
It didn’t take much pondering for the Columbia University student to come up with his answer of giving $10,000 of his $100,000 of winnings toward cancer research at the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute. He was inspired by the legendary host Alex Trebek, who announced in March that he’s fighting pancreatic cancer.
“I was inspired to give by Alex Trebek, the host of “Jeopardy!,” and someone I’ve looked up to my whole life,” Gupta said in a Twitter video. “It was a dream come true earlier this year to finally join him on the stage in the “Jeopardy!” teen tournament.”
Gupta later said it was his goal to support Trebek, his hero, “and the millions of other people suffering from pancreatic cancer across the world.”
The donation will promote detection of pancreatic cancer, which Trebek himself advocated for in an October PSA. Trebek received treatment for his stage 4 pancreatic cancer earlier this year. In the PSA, Trebek advocates for more people to pay attention to the symptoms. The “persistent stomach pain” he experienced prior to his diagnosis was a symptom. Other symptoms include back pain, unexplained weight loss and the yellowing of the skin.
World Pancreatic Cancer Day is Nov. 15. For more information on pancreatic cancer, visit http://www.worldpancreaticcancerday.org/.
About the Author
Stephanie has been telling stories her whole life. Her interest in the written word started with short stories and journal entries about run-ins with classroom bullies as a child and matured to writing for her high school newspaper over the years. She has written and edited for The Tennessean, Augusta Chronicle and American City & County.
