Debbie Nester of Lower Pottsgrove, a teacher at St. Francis Academy in Bally, had her 15 minutes of fame on Christmas Eve where she was featured on the game show Wheel of Fortune.
Nester said “I saw the advertisement for the application online and thought it would be neat to be on the show.” So after filling out the application, Nester received a letter back asking her to send in a video about herself. The Wheel of Fortune website asks applicants to act natural, smile and state why you’d be a good contestant. “It was only a short video, only a minute or two. I just told about myself and some interesting facts,” said Nester. After sending in the video, she received a letter asking her to come to Brooklyn, New York to audition for the show.
“I was so excited. It was so much fun. I can’t say that enough,” exclaimed Nester.
In Brooklyn, the people auditioning were not allowed to use cameras, or take videos. “They asked us to leave our phones in the room. I got a few pictures of outside the studio but that was it.”
Once inside and the auditions began, each contestant was asked to stand up and acting as if you would were already on the show. “They asked us to do different things like say your name and shout different letters.” Nester said that they also were set up in groups and asked to solve a puzzle, like on the show. “If your group won you got little prizes like a t-shirt, hat or tote bag.” Nester said the very last test was a game of Hangman where you eliminate the letters to guess the phrase.
The second round of auditions had cut almost half the people from the first round. “This round they were interested more on focusing to the game and pronunciation.”
At first, Nester wasn’t sure she would move on to become an actual contestant. “When I saw the judges writing down notes, I felt hopeful that they liked me and were going to pick me to come back.”
About two to three weeks later, Nester got a written confirmation that she had been chosen to be on the show. Filming was in October, but she was not been allowed to discuss the results until her episode aired on Dec. 26. “My friends and family are so excited for me. I don’t know anyone else that has done something like this.”
