""The Price Is Right"" for WesternU student
College of Podiatric Medicine student Pamela Hong, 24, won more than $50,000 in prizes on “The Price is Right” episode that aired on Thursday, June 2, 2011. Click here to watch a clip from the show.
Hong appeared in the audience along with several yellow-T-shirt-clad members of the College of Podiatric Medicine’s Class of 2014, who are almost finished with their first year of school. She was told to “Come on down!” and successfully bid on an iPhone 4, sending her onstage with host Drew Carey.
Hong went on to successfully play the “One Away” game, winning a 2012 Honda Accord, then won her round of the “big wheel” spin and was one of two contestants in the concluding showcase. Her winning showcase bid of $27,000 — just $565 lower than “the actual retail price” of her showcase – earned her Swiss Army watches, a trip to New York City, and a 2012 Ford Mustang.
For the day, that was an iPhone 4, watches, a NYC trip and two cars, for a total of $52,091 in prizes.
During the “One Away” game, Hong looked to her classmates for their opinions and also went with her gut instinct. She likewise formulated a calculation of the final showcase bid and looked toward her classmates to confirm they were in the same range.
“They were a big contribution to what I actually ended up bidding on,” she said.
She and her classmates went to “The Price is Right” taping to celebrate the completion of a final exam. Getting called to the stage was a surprise and an adrenaline rush, Hong said. The entire experience was surreal.
“I just could not believe it,” she said. “But it didn’t change anything. The next day I had to go back to class again.”
She rejoined her classmates after the taping and they went out to celebrate.
“It was really humbling,” Hong said. “They were all really excited for me. No one was jealous. There was no animosity that they didn’t get chosen. Some classmates were more excited than me (that I won). I thank my classmates. I owe it to them that I got on the show and made it that far.”
