PHSR Graduate Student Wins Big on National Game Show

Melissa Ross walks away with $20,000 in cash and prizes after appearing on Wheel of Fortune.

By Malissa Carroll
October 23, 2013

“It was the fastest 22 minutes of my life,” says Melissa Ross, a second-year student in the Pharmaceutical Health Services Research (PHSR) Graduate Program at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, when describing her recent appearance on the popular nationwide game show Wheel of Fortune.

Ross, who at her friend’s advice, applied online to appear on the show more than one year ago, had almost forgotten about her application when she received an e-mail earlier this year. That e-mail, informing her that tryouts for the show were being held in January at the Hyatt Regency in Baltimore, would be the first step in a whirlwind journey that would leave her $9,000 richer and with an exciting summer cruise in the Mediterranean to plan.

“At tryouts, all of the people who were auditioning for the show – and there were a lot of them – competed in practice rounds,” recalls Ross. “The organizers used a power point as a mock game board, and they randomly called us to come up, ‘spin’ the wheel, and call out letters. They also gave us worksheets to complete. The worksheets were divided into some of the same categories that appear on the show and contained words for which half of the letters were left blank. So, while most of the process relied on luck, there was also a portion that was skill-based.”

After acing tryouts, Ross traveled with her parents to Los Angeles, Calif., where the show was filmed in July. Though she wasn’t able to realize her dream of meeting singer Adam Levine, who was filming an episode of the hit television show The Voice in the next studio, Ross admits that her consolation prize wasn’t all that bad. “I made it to the bonus round,” she says.

Unfortunately, she didn’t win the bonus round. But, Ross knows that this experience is not likely to be one that she will soon forget.

“I solved the second puzzle, which earned me $1,000, and was one of the first people to use the ‘Express’ wedge, which was a new space on the wheel that everyone was excited about,” says Ross. “That special wedge gave me $1,000 for each correct consonant that I called. I racked up $8,000 pretty quickly before solving that puzzle, too. Because that puzzle happened to be the prize puzzle, I also won a 10-night Mediterranean cruise!”

She notes that, to her dismay, the producers did not edit the show much before it aired on Oct. 17.

“I was kind of hoping that they would take out the part when I called a letter that was already on the board,” Ross laughingly admits. “It was pretty clear what the puzzle was, and it wasn’t that I didn’t know how to solve it. I just panicked. The experience was a little more nerve-wracking than I thought it would be when I applied.”

Another unexpected twist that Ross encountered while filming the show — the weight of the wheel that contestants had to spin. “That wheel is really heavy. It was a good thing that the show’s producers allowed us to practice spinning it before we started to film,” she recalls.

Although Ross admits that there were a lot of things happening around her while filming was taking place, when asked about her favorite part of the experience, she does not hesitate to respond.

“Meeting Vanna White left me a little star struck,” says Ross. “She introduced herself to all of the contestants before we started to film. She was wearing yoga pants and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, which is much different than the typical ballroom attire you see her wear on the show. She was very friendly and personable, and I gained a new respect for her. She didn’t have to meet with us, but she did, and I thought that was very nice.”

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