“Come ooooooooooon down!” is a phrase that many of us have heard on episodes of the long-running television show, The Price is Right. But Erin Rickelman, Communication Studies '03, was lucky enough to hear those words in person.
Rickelman credits her education in communication studies with providing her the skills she needed to successfully interview for The Price is Right and ultimately become a contestant on the show’s Feb. 22 airing.
Her Kent State education also helped her land a job as an assistant manager of the art concessions at Hershey Park, an amusement park in Pennsylvania. In the winter, when the park is closed, Rickelman travels to parks in warmer climates to consult on personnel matters. It was through her job that Rickelman had the opportunity to travel to California with several co-workers where she landed a spot on The Price is Right.
Rickelman was very strategic in her approach to interviewing/auditioning for the show. She even went so far as to wear a shirt made out of aluminum foil to look like a Hershey Kiss. The shirt read, “I have a big Hershey, PA kiss just for you, Bob”. Rickelman said that she stood in line from 4 a.m. to noon, waiting for an interview with hundreds of other people.
“I was number 93 out of 350 people to get interviewed,” Rickelman said. “The producers divided contestants into sections of 15 and began asking them questions. There were only a few people who got asked more than a few questions, and I was one of them,” she said.
Rickelman said that she had to act very enthusiastic and excited in order to stand out to the producers. It must have worked — the producers took the time to ask her several questions that they didn’t bother to ask the others. They even asked her how she finds time to watch the show since she is at work every day.
Rickelman said her communication skills made her feel confident about the interview, even after she learned that only nine out of the 350 people interviewed would be called onto contestants’ row, where they would have the chance to win prizes.
During the show, Rickelman’s co-workers cheered her on as the producers announced the names of the nine winners to participate in contestants’ row. The eighth person’s name to be called was someone who had been in her interview section. “That’s when I started to lose hope,” Rickelman said. “I didn’t think they’d call another person from the same section.”
But the last name was called, and Rickelman couldn’t believe what she heard: “Erin Rickelman, come on down, you’re the next contestant on The Price Is Right!”
“Everything was a blur,” Rickelman said. “I just remember hearing my last name and all my friends screaming. Although the price wasn’t right and I didn’t make it up on stage, my education in communication studies and interviewing skills definitely gave me an upper hand. This is a perfect example of how communication studies can help you in whatever it is you end up doing.”
-- by Sara Gustafson, Comm Studies ‘04
with Renee Freismuth, a senior majoring in public relations.
