Local elementary teacher Maggie Jagoe has always loved the show “Wheel of Fortune,” and this Friday she will appear on an episode of the show’s Teacher Week. The episode will air at 6:30 p.m. on NBC.
“I have always loved ‘Wheel of Fortune’ and both of my grandmothers loved the show, too,” Jagoe said.
Though she had always heard announcements about auditioning, this year she decided to go for it.
“I got on the website and uploaded a video which basically asked me to show my energy for 2-3 minutes,” Jagoe said.
In March, the producers did a quick meet-and-greet with Jagoe through a Zoom meeting and called her the next day.
“They put me in a quick trial puzzle solver with a couple of other people,” Jagoe said. “After that, I didn’t hear anything for a while. I waited and waited and finally got an email from them.”
The email told her to book her flight and get ready to fly to Los Angeles.
“I was not going to say no. It fell the week before teachers went back to school. The taping was on July 27 on a Thursday, and so I flew back on Sunday.”
Jagoe traveled with both of her parents and her niece Briley for the taping of the Teacher Week, naming her favorite part of the experience as the people she shared it with.
“No one in our family flies often and here we were flying across the country,” she said. “It was neat to all do it together.”
Jagoe used a classroom game to tell her students at Country Heights Elementary School that she’d be on the show. They picked numbers that corresponded to letters hanging on her wall.
“It spelled out ‘Wheel of Fortune Teachers Week.’ I told them I had the chance to win a trip, a car, or even a million dollars. No matter what, I would get $1,000 just for appearing on the show,” she said.
Whether she won anything or not — she’s not allowed to say before the show airs — Jagoe said was happy to be on the show because it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“During the taping, we had our hair and makeup touched up and the producers were fantastic,” she said. “It was the coolest experience. I can’t wait to share with my friends and family as we celebrate on Friday.”
