University of Maine professor Kara Peruccio on the set of “Jeopardy!” with host Ken Jennings. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

Kara Peruccio beat out two competitors Friday to become a champion on “Jeopardy!,” the iconic, long-running TV quiz show. Her streak ended with a loss on Monday, but for Peruccio, a professor of history and gender studies at the University of Maine, the experience was still a lifelong dream fulfilled.

Peruccio, who lives in Bangor, said she grew up watching “Jeopardy!” and dancing along to the music with her twin sister, who also competed on the show back in 2013. She auditioned four times over the years, including over a decade ago when she was accepted to be on the show but couldn’t tape because she was living abroad in Turkey. This time, she auditioned in September, and recorded her episodes in March. She said her experience with the discipline of history set her up for success on the show.

“What drew me to studying history, especially in college, is that you get to study a little bit of everything,” she said Tuesday. “Whether it’s art, literature, politics, even my least favorite subject economics, you learn about many different facets of history.”

Peruccio said that knowledge came in handy in a category about female monarchs and for the final question about Italian literature. But being a teacher also helped in a different way.

“I learn a lot from my students, especially when they’re in my introductory class, where some of them are psych majors, or engineering,” she said. “So when my students bring up things in classes, I learn things, and I’d like to think that I’ve accumulated knowledge from all of them, not just my own studies.”

Peruccio only told three people about the outcome of Friday’s match, and surprised her family, friends and students with her win. Peruccio earned $12,400, and said she has two plans for her winnings: opening a Roth IRA account and going on a European ski vacation.

Peruccio learned a lot about the behind-the-scenes mechanics of “Jeopardy!” during her stint. First and foremost, taping started at 7:30 a.m. and went until 6 p.m., with five episodes recorded in a day and hers up last. The stage was smaller than she expected, and the audience felt closer. When it came to wardrobe, Peruccio brought a couple of options, including what she considers her good-luck dress. But producers told her the print didn’t read well on camera and instead approved a beige sweater for Friday’s show.

And then there was the matter of the buzzer.

“You can’t just buzz in as soon as you know the answer, you have to wait for (Host Ken Jennings) to stop reading the clue and then these lights flash next to the board. And then if you buzz in too early, it locks you out for half a second,” she said. “It’s definitely a lot harder than it looks.”

Peruccio said she considered buying a buzzer online to practice at home — until she learned it cost $90. Contestants get two mock rounds to practice with the buzzer, but even still, she buzzed in early a couple of times.

She said something else the audience doesn’t see is that the contestants from a week of shows all get to know each other during the taping. Now, she said, she’s in group chats with the other contestants, cheering each other on as their games air.

Despite the win and fulfillment of a lifelong dream, she said there is a slightly bittersweet feeling now that her episodes have aired.

“I am sad that I don’t think I’ll ever be on ‘Jeopardy!’ again, because once you’re a contestant, unless they invite you back, you can’t go on again,” she said. “I have to find something new to strive for.”

Her advice to anyone with an interest in the show is to take the online test, the first step to becoming a contestant, because there’s really nothing to lose.

“Like with anything, you might as well try for it, and then if it happens it happens,” Peruccio said. “If not, I’ve always had fun just taking the online test because I learn something new.”