Award-winning Taylor High teacher competes on ‘Wheel of Fortune’
Handing out letter grades is one thing, but using letters to fill in the blanks for a victory on a game show puts Taylor High School educator Vicki Rowe at the top of the class.
“That’s my teacher!” exclaimed a student in Rowe’s class at Taylor High when asked about seeing the popular English teacher and Academic Decathlon coach on the long-running CBS contest, “Wheel of Fortune,” Wednesday evening.
“I was more excited to watch Mrs. Rowe win than I was to watch any sports game,” Alexandra Cruz added. “I was so pumped up. I was confident she was going to win.”
Rowe began May 7 by solving the first puzzle of the evening and continued to excel during the half-hour game, qualifying for the final Bonus Round. By the show’s end, she had successfully spun the prize wheel enough to claim $17,500 in winnings and a weeklong trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Several students expressed surprise at how well Rowe was able to compete under pressure.
“There were four letters for this 13-letter puzzle, and she went ‘tasty,’ ‘tangy,’ ‘tantalizing,’” Gray Talavera said. “I thought the last word was ‘tetrazzini.’ I was in shock. It just shows how much she knows.”
Rowe is no newcomer to competitions, or even game shows. The Academic Decathlon team she coaches consistently ranks in the state’s top three and often places at the national level.
She has been named Texas ACDEC Coach of the Year multiple times, has received Teacher of the Year recognitions on numerous occasions, and was just named a recipient of the H-E-B Educator of Excellence: Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 2001, she appeared on another TV game show.
“I’ve always loved trivia, which landed me on ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ with Regis Philbin,” Rowe said. “I’ve always loved learning and I love words. Anytime I get to play with words, I have a blast. I’ve also live-auditioned twice for ‘Jeopardy’ but didn’t get called.”
Rowe said one of the most meaningful moments of the evening came when host Ryan Seacrest found out about the educator’s love for the classic movie, “The Wizard of Oz.”
“I have (star) Judy Garland’s autograph that my mom got from her,” Rowe said. “Judy Garland was born in my mom’s hometown, which became my hometown. My mom and her sisters used to play with Judy Garland and her sisters when they were little.”
She added, “We always watched that movie every year when it was on TV. Ryan mentioned that the tornado in the movie was filmed there in that studio. One of the producers took me outside later and said, ‘You are now standing on the yellow brick road.’” Another favorite moment came when Rowe told Seacrest he was, “Cute as a button.” Rowe said the question she has been asked most since the show aired is if Seacrest is as nice in person as he appears on TV.
“Not only is he as cute as a button, but Ryan is kind, very kind,” Rowe said. “Even during breaks he would come over and talk to us. At the end of the show when he was hugging me, he said, ‘Good luck with your Academic Decathlon team.’” Regarding longtime co-host Vanna White, Rowe said, “She is just a gorgeous human being, inside and out.”
Rowe’s journey to compete on “Wheel of Fortune” started two years ago with her Academic Decathlon class. An avid “Wheel of Fortune” fan, Rowe received an email notice about trying out for the show. She asked her students what they thought, and received a unanimous, positive response.
Students even helped her produce the short video required as part of the audition. After all requirements were fulfilled, Rowe was invited to be a contestant.
She turned down the first few offers because she didn’t feel the theme was a good match, and then the California wildfires and a mistakenly deleted email caused a few delays in the process, too. With filming finally completed during the season’s secondto- last week of taping, Rowe was not allowed to talk about the show until after it aired.
When May 7 finally arrived, photos of watch parties flooded socialmedia pages as many of Rowe’s current and former students and colleagues, family and friends tuned in to watch the local teaching legend.
“I thought it was really interesting, all the energy in the room,” said Ravis Kennedy, who attended the watch party at Taylor High. “As soon as Mrs. Rowe came on the TV, everyone stood up and started applauding for her. As soon as they said the words, ‘Wheel of Fortune,’ the whole room just erupted in applause.”
“Not only is it so cool to see someone I know on national TV, I can’t think of a person who is more deserving to be in that role,” said Mason Zana, who watched at home with his family. “In the first 30 seconds, when I first saw her on the screen, I cheered so loudly that my mom told me I needed to be more quiet. We were all so excited to see her on there.”
Once on the set, and spinning that 600-pound wheel, Rowe’s strategy was to stay on top of her game.
“Once I started playing, I just focused,” said Rowe. “It’s kind of like if you play golf or tennis, you have to get in the zone. I’m a highly competitive person, but I got into that focused zone and after that any nervousness just melted away.”
The game show normally is taped at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California.
When asked for her “Words to Soar By,” her secret for success, Rowe said the following: “Live life with a sense of joy, move forward with a kind heart and live a full life. Try new things, like being on a game show. I don’t think most people realize how much fun that can be. When you feel joy, it radiates. Kind hearts bring smiles.”
Following the show, Rowe was interviewed by Maggie Sajak, the daughter of previous and long-running “Wheel of Fortune” host Pat Sajak.
That interview, along with Rowe’s “Bonus Round,” may be viewed online at https://www. wheeloffortune.com/.
