When Kirkland resident Liz Hedreen filled out her first screening quiz for the trivia game show Jeopardy in the spring of 2015 she wasn’t expecting much.

In fact, the 52-year-old mother said she forgot all about it until she received an email last January asking her to audition in-person in Seattle.

“I thought ‘oh, this will be fun, whatever, it’ll be a lark,'” she said.

At the audition with around 20 other area participants she was given another quiz and once again didn’t think much of it. But three weeks later she got the call telling her she had been selected to appear on the show.

She packed her bags and later flew down to Los Angeles for the taping.

Hedreen is a long-time Jeopardy fan and said the chance to appear on television for the first time tapped into a slew of emotions.

“It was super fun, it was kind of terrifying, needless to say,” Hedreen said.

And she even won on the July 4 show, hauling in $21,600.

Her husband and sister-in-law came down for the filming.

Hedreen said everyone on the staff was friendly, including the show’s host Alex Trebek, who she described as cordial.

But the part she was most nervous about was the personal anecdotes each participant gives.

“When you watch it on TV, 99 percent of the time it’s really awkward,” she said.

When the time came to give hers, Hedreen said she told Trebek about climbing Mt. St. Helens.

Hedreen couldn’t discuss the results of the show but said she would do it again if she could, but has no plans to apply to other game shows in the future.

She and her husband spent two days in LA before heading home.

Hedreen is currently the President of the Lake Washington PTSA Council. She planned on inviting friends and family over on July 4 to celebrate the holiday and watch her appearance on the show.

“It was a fun and challenging experience,” she said. ” Everybody on the set is extremely friendly and they really go out of their way to make it a fun and positive experience.”