Howell grad wins $48K on ‘Wheel of Fortune’

Howell High School graduate Sarah Beatty answered her way to $48,350 when she was a contestant on the game show “Wheel of Fortune.”

“It’s definitely an amount of money I would have never dreamed of winning,” said Beatty after her episode aired Tuesday night.

“Wheel of Fortune” is a show that has become near and dear to Beatty since it’s how she first learned how to read and spell.

Beatty would go over to her grandparent’s house to spend time with them by playing along with the show.

“It was something we could do together, and last year my grandpa passed away, and I felt like the opportunity was his way of telling me to go for it,” she said.

Since the show was in search of new contestants, Beatty decided to participate in the Wheelmobile in Detroit, a traveling version of the show. People interested put their name and contact information in a box to be called to participate in the Wheelmobile mini-game in order to qualify for the televised show.

“My name wasn’t called, and I was crushed because it was my one chance to be on the show,” Beatty said.

A few months later, she received an email from “Wheel of Fortune” staff informing Beatty that her name was drawn and asking if she would be interested in auditioning.

“I was thrilled when I got that email,” Beatty said. “I still had a chance to play.”

Her dreams were again crushed when she didn’t hear back after her audition.

“I refused to watch the show because they didn’t pick me, so I rebelled against watching it,” Beatty said laughing. “I was pretty heartbroken.”

Once night while studying before her final exams, she received another email from the game show asking her to be a contestant on the show. The third time was a charm for Beatty.

She instantly began to cry tears of joy.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Beatty explained about that moment. “It was such a surreal moment for me because it was such a lengthy process, and I thought after not hearing back from my audition, that was it.”

Beatty and her best friend packed up their things and flew out to the Los Angeles set right after her last final for the semester.

Since she arrived three days before they filmed, Beatty had limited time to study. She instantly downloaded the “Wheel of Fortune” app and glued her eyes to her phone screen.

“I crammed all day and night, and I felt kind of unprepared and felt more nervous because a lot of the other contestants had been studying and doing puzzles for weeks, so I tried to not let it get to my head,” Beatty said, stressing that it was an experience of a lifetime. “It ended up being really fun, and I did better than I thought I would.”

Beatty’s episode aired Tuesday at 7 p.m. local NBC stations.

“I would encourage anyone to go on a game show and not be afraid to take a chance,” Beatty said. “Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get it the first or second time around, because look what had happened to me. Try again — and when that email pops up, you’ll be happy you didn’t give up.”

Contact Livingston Daily education reporter Abby Welsh at 517-552-2848 or at awelsh@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @abby_welshLD.