PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland is now home to a 'Jeopardy!' champion.
On Friday night, Jeopardy aired its 2019 Teen Tournament Final where 17-year-old Avi Gupta won the tournament and the $100,000 grand prize.
“It's something you never imagined would happen,” said Gupta, during a combined 'Jeopardy!' watch party and graduation party at his family’s Northwest Portland home.
As a kid, Gupta used to watch 'Jeopardy!' with his grandma as a way to feed his insatiable hunger for information. As for actual hunger, Gupta said he used to give his parents a tough time during meals.
“They'd be like, ‘We'll give you another question, like a math question or trivia question if you eat another bite!’” recalled Gupta.
Short of that, Gupta’s father said he and his mother couldn’t take much credit for their son’s success.
“It's his journey and we're along for the ride,” said Saurabh Gupta. “He's a special kid.”
Special, like when Gupta started his nonprofit, Project 32, which sends toothbrushes to needy kids around the world. He also started his school's chess club.
This week, he took the money he earned teaching kids to play chess and donated it to OHSU’s Knight Cancer Institute for Pancreatic Cancer Research.
“He was pretty shaken by Alex [Trebek’s] cancer diagnosis,” Saurabh Gupta said. “He was like, ‘Ok, what can I do? How can I make a difference?’”
On Friday, Avi Gupta presented doctors at OHSU with a check for $314, a nod to the mathematical constant, Pi.
“It's just remarkable to think about a 17-year-old who's thinking more broadly and trying to give back to somebody that means something to him,” said Dr. Brian Druker, director of Knight Cancer Institute. “To help us in the fight against pancreatic cancer, that to me is so incredibly meaningful.”
This fall, Gupta will head to Columbia University. He'll major in computer science and a minor in economics. He's not sure what he wants to do for a living, but he has goals.
“I really hope that I can somehow repay to the world all that it's given me,” Gupta said. “My hope is to make a difference.”
Gupta said he plans to use most of his 'Jeopardy!' winnings to help pay for college and will donate some to Project 32 and cancer research.
Those interested in donating to the Knight Cancer Institute can do so, here.