2008 Woodie Awards
Student takes a fortunate spin through college week
by Sammi Cassin
Issue date: 10/23/07 Section: Mosaic
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Junior Hilary Silverman got to live that dream on Wednesday when she appeared on "Wheel of Fortune's" college week.
Silverman and a few close friends gathered in her apartment to watch the show. Back home in Pittsburgh, her parents hosted their own viewing party at a local restaurant.
"Lots of family and friends were there," Silverman says. "My parents said it was a blast. Everyone they knew was there and cheering me on, even though most of them knew what was going to happen."
Silverman was in Pittsburgh when the "Wheel of Fortune" bus came to her town and handed out applications. She had been a fan of the show for a long time and filled out one of the forms. She later received a letter telling her she would be a contestant.
"The letter said you could be called to be a contestant anywhere from that day to a year and a half later," she says. "I was really just trying not to think about it. I just figured I wouldn't be called for a while, but they called me two weeks later and told me my show was in two weeks in L.A."
Silverman says filming isn't easy. She arrived at the studio at 7:15 a.m. and had to sit through five hours of rules, protocol and paperwork before they began shooting the first show.
"It made me even more nervous than I already was," she says. "They told you all these things to do and you had to remember everything. But once I was on stage, all my nerves turned to excitement."
Silverman says while walking on the set, she was surprised by how small the studio and stage were, and also at how strict the show's rules were.
"I was so surprised when they said we weren't allowed to communicate with anyone you came with," Silverman says. "They even had alternatives waiting just in case anyone cheated or broke a rule."
She says even as a fan who yells out the answers from home, people underestimate how hard it is to actually solve the puzzles and spin the wheel in person.
"I'm the type of person who sits at home and yells at the contestants," Silverman says. "But when you're actually there, you can't take your time or relax, and you're in front of a whole audience plus Pat [Sajak] and Vanna [White], and it's scary."
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