IU junior wins $17,000 on popular game show

IU junior Kelsey Kapral won $17,000 on “Wheel of Fortune” during its annual “College Week.”\nKapral, who is majoring in exercise science, said she has always been interested in the show. \n“My mom would watch ‘Jeopardy,’ and I would be like, ‘I don’t know any, I’m not that smart,’ so I’d actually play ‘Wheel Of Fortune’ because its just like hangman,” Kapral said.\nKapral said she was selected about a month after her closed audition and filmed the show March 8 at the Navy Pier. \n“It was cool ... it was a lot different than I expected,” she said. “We got there at 8:30 in the morning, but I didn’t tape my show until 10:30 in the night.” \nKapral said she was excited to win, mainly because she has been a fan all her life. But being able to use it for college was a big plus, she said, joking that she would be able to use the money for a week of graduate school.\nShe added that, during taping, the rules and pregame sections of the game took a large amount of time, but it was worth it.\n“It was a really cool experience, just seeing the set and hanging out with all the other college kids,” she said.\nPublicity and promotions assistant Rachel Gerin said contestants can either apply online to be a contestant or audition at the “Wheelmobile,” a Winnebago that travels to different cities and offers potential contestants the chance to play a mock game. Gerin said selected contestants who must be at least 18 years old and know how to play the game are told they will be on the show a couple of weeks in advance.\n“They also have to be spunky, have fun and be good on camera,” she said, adding that a contestant’s ability to play the game and be comfortable on camera is crucial. “It’s a little harder than it looks. I know, I tried it once.”\n–Campus Editor Kaitlin Shawgo contributed to this story.