Taft Student on Wheel of Fortune

Photo Credit: Carol Kaelson

If you tune in to Wheel of Fortune this Monday, April 22, you may catch the name Taft University.

Taft student Pete Gillen and his wife Lynn are contestants on the episode, competing against two other couples. They love watching the show with their three young daughters to help them learn letters and words, so they jumped on the opportunity to audition when tryouts for the show came through town.

Both he and his wife auditioned and were called back individually before landing a spot as a couple on this episode.

There is a thorough tryout process set in place. The first round involves being called on stage to answer some questions about yourself and then playing a quick round of the game. Basically, they want to see if you’re comfortable in front of a crowd and how well you know the game.

Once called back, they were given a written exam, asked questions about their strategy, and then given an audition in front of a panel. Pete and Lynn did well on every stage of the tryouts.

In early spring, they were called to fly to Los Angeles to tape the show.

This coming week’s theme is Aulani Resort Hawaii Vacation week, featuring Disney as their sponsor. Prizes contestants can win include Disney vacations as well as cash prizes – but we can’t say how Pete and Lynn did, so you’ll just have to watch the episode and see.

Pete is the Principal of West Springfield Middle School in Massachusetts and currently in the dissertation stage of his Doctor of Education (EdD) at Taft. While he loves his current role, this program allowed him to complete his EdD at his own pace so that he has the education to be ready if and when another opportunity of interest comes up.