Student wins big on game show

Emily Fergason had waited her entire life to hear those three words: “Wheel! Of! Fortune!”

Fergason, a senior and lifelong fan of the show, won on the Oct. 7 episode of “Wheel of Fortune.” She won more than $31,000 in cash and prizes, including a trip to the Canadian Rockies.

“It was a totally surreal experience,” said Fergason. “I still can hardly believe it.”
In Fergason’s childhood, “Wheel of Fortune” was a family tradition. She frequently watched the show with her grandparents, who are now passed.

Fergason said that’s why her mom was the most excited about her appearance on the show.

“It meant the world to me that Emily got to be on wheel,” Fergason’s mother, Mary, said. “She’s so good at figuring out those puzzles.”

Fergason said she doesn’t remember signing up for the show, but figures she must have done it years ago.

“I got an email last fall asking me to come to an audition in Indianapolis,” Fergason said.

At the audition, Fergason was one of 15 contestants chosen from the pool of more than 200 people.

Her episode was filmed Aug. 18 in Los Angeles.

“Pulling up to Sony Pictures Studios was like pulling up to the White House,” Fergason said. “It was huge.”

Although Fergason’s on-camera experience as host of WTIU’s “The Friday Zone” deterred her nerves, she was far from relaxed while she waited for the show to start.
“I’m the most competitive person you’ll ever meet,” Fergason said. “I was so geared up to play.”

Fergason’s competitiveness was fruitful; she won $18,800 in cash and a trip to Canada, which she plans to take with her twin brother.

As for the money, Fergason said she will invest nearly all of it in the stock market.
“If anything, I’ll buy a Louis Vuitton bag from LA,” she said. “But I’m going to save the rest.”

Fergason said while she felt almost numb to the experience that day, she enjoyed telling her friends and family about it.

Her friends had a watch party when the show aired on WFIU.

“A lot of people were pretty shocked to see how well she did,” said senior Jennifer Goelz, Fergason’s friend. “Not many people could believe she had won $31,000.”

Now that the show has aired, Fergason has to return to normal life as a student.

“I need to move on with my life now,” Fergason said. “But it sure will be a cool thing to use when I have to tell a fun fact about myself.”