It was an ordinary day, Opened my newspaper and there at the bottom of Page 1 was something I had been wishing for my entire lifetime. Guy by the name of Scott Aukamp, who is a teacher in the School District of Lancaster, won $62,000 and a trip to Barbados. Oh, if that had only been me! His story said that before he competed on "Wheel Of Fortune," he had a dream he was on the show and had won $62,000 and a trip to Costa Rica. Hey...his dream wasn't too far off! The Smith-Wade-El Elementary second-grade teacher, who lives outside of Reading, PA, competed on "Wheel of Fortune" in June, and the episode aired this past Tuesday night. Prior to applying to the show, Aukamp and his oldest son, Mitchell, were watching "Wheel of Fortune" earlier this year, and Mitchell commented how good at the game he was. "Wheel of Fortune" has been part of Aukamp's life for nearly 40 years, so by that time he was well practiced. He applied for the game show on a whim in March and didn't tell his friends or family. But, when he got an email from a Zoom call, he finally told everyone. Nearly a million people apply to be part of "Wheel of Fortune" yearly, but only around 600 actually get to be on the show. That's a 0.0006% chance of making it!. But, Scott was one of the lucky ones. Before going on the show, he downloaded the "Wheel of Fortune" app and practiced with nearly 500 games. He researched the most common consonants and vowels, and learned everything he could about the set and odds of winning. "It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, an he didn't want to blow it. Aukamp's episode aired during the show's "Teacher Week," which featured teachers as contestants. When Aukamp got to the bonus round, he knew he had won the bonus prize only, when he looked at the dial puzzle. "I thought I had it before I guessed the letters," Aukamp says. He was thinking, "I'm either going to look really good or to look really bad here." But then everything started lighting up, and he realized he got it. The puzzle he solved was "Waiting my turn." Aukamp kept the secret for more than three months, but it was finally revealed Tuesday night. Aukamp hosted a watch party at Spring Home Brewing Co. with some of his co-workers, lifelong friends, neighbors and family members. As for Aukamp's plans for the money, which he says he won't receive until January, he plans to put some toward his son's education and perhaps a family vacation or work around his house. "It's just a dream come true!" Aukamp says. PS - You can watch the video of Aukamp's bonus round victory at Lancaster.news/Wheel-of-Fortune-Teacher. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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| Scott Aukamp on "Wheel of Fortune" |
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