Price is right for one student
$32,000 package includes car

By Melissa Christensen
Staff Reporter

If you see a tent pitched in Marisa Schenke’s living room, don’t fret too much. Her roommate told her she could put it there.

Schenke, a junior advertising/public relations major, and her friends will be celebrating the $32,000 prize package, including the three-person Coleman tent she won from “The Price is Right” game show during Spring Break. The episode airs at 10 a.m. April 16 on CBS.

Schenke said she asked her roommate, Lauren Wylie, to look into getting tickets for the show because Wylie’s sister lives in the Los Angeles area.

Along with five of their friends, the roommates decorated themselves in purple and arrived at the CBS studio around 4:30 a.m. March 19 to ensure admittance to the day’s taping. During the 10-hour wait for the show to start taping, producers from the show interviewed Schenke and her friends.

Schenke said she and her friends played up their TCU connection because announcer Rod Roddy is a former Horned Frog.

“We all wore TCU shirts and painted TCU on our cheeks,” she said. “I told them ‘I’m a swimmer for TCU, but I’m from Kansas City where they have the best barbecue.’”

Much to her surprise, Schenke was the first audience member asked to “Come on down” to Contestants’ Row. Although she overbid on the first item, she said she used traditional strategy when camping gear, including the tent, backpacks and cooking utensils, came up for bid.

“I was a $1 girl,” she said. “I ran up on stage and kissed Bob Barker, which I had always wanted to do. He wears a lot of makeup.”

Her stage game, however, did not prove as successful. She walked away empty-handed from a game called Two for the Price of One.

“I went from a total high to a total low, but I just kept thinking that at least I would get to spin the wheel,” she said.

Schenke’s spin landed on 90 cents, which lead to her placement as runner-up in the Showcase Showdown.

When the first contestant bid on a showcase that included a sailboat and a trip to Australia, Schenke said she knew a car was in store for her.

After Barker’s Beauties presented a cell phone, a washer and dryer set and a desk, she started jumping up and down as a 2001 Dodge Intrepid was revealed, she said.

“I was trying to keep track of the prices, but I don’t know anything about cars,” she said.

Wylie, a junior nursing major, said the TCU group in the audience was at a disadvantage to help Schenke because they couldn’t see the car.

“We figured around $18,000,” Wylie said. “When she bid $21,000, we thought it was over. We didn’t know the Intrepid was worth that much.”

That fear became more founded when Schenke’s bid was shown to be $9,000 less than the retail price. Her counterpart, however, overbid on her showcase, lending a default victory to Schenke.

“I started screaming and went up to hug Bob Barker,” she said. “My friends came out and we all jumped in the car and stood up through the sunroof.”

And then, Schenke said, it was all done. Barker asked people to spay or neuter their pets, the cameras were turned off and she was ushered into a room to sign five or six waivers.

Back in Fort Worth, Schenke and Wylie are anxiously awaiting the delivery of the rest of the prizes, including a one-month supply of Dawn Liquid Soap. The car will be delivered to a dealership in North Texas, where Schenke can decide to claim it or sell it.

While she will be out of town on the day her episode airs, Schenke said she is planning a “Come on Down” party to celebrate her appearance on tape.

Schenke said going to the show was a lifetime goal.

“I’ve been watching the show every single day since I was 10,” she said.

Wylie said she and the five other women were pleased that Schenke was chosen to appear as a contestant.

“It was all Marisa’s idea, and she had the most school spirit,” she said. “And I’m her roommate, so I get to use the washer and dryer, too.”

Melissa Christensen
m.s.christense@student.tcu.edu