In early August freshman Melody Forsell and two friends took a trip to Hollywood to be part of the live studio audience of the longtime-aired game show, “The Price is Right.” What she didn’t realize beforehand was the possibility of being one of 300 audience members interviewed that day as potential contestants.

The screening process was fairly straightforward; they asked her simple questions, like her name, hometown, age, job, etc. In an attempt to stand out, she and a friend donned T-shirts saying, “This college-bound girl wants to play Plinko,” (one of the popular pricing games).

Her bubbly enthusiasm must have shone through to the casting crew, because she was the very first contestant selected to play the game. She described experiencing a shift in emotion while standing on stage with host Drew Carrey.

“When they first called my name, I was kind of in shock. It didn’t hit me right away to run down to the stage, my friends had to give me a nudge,” said Forsell. “Beforehand I was really pumped and enthusiastic, but once I was actually up and playing the game, it was really nerve-wracking.”

As anyone who’s tuned in to the popular game show knows, the audience is very involved, often yelling out incomprehensible shouts of different prices in attempt to help the contestants.

“It was overwhelming,” said Forsell, laughing about the situation.

Forsell is 19 years old, loves to write and studies communications at Sonoma State University. She hasn’t settled on a concentration yet since it’s only her first semester, but after college she would consider writing for a newspaper or magazine, or possibly go into broadcasting and work for a national news network.

She’s from Camarillo, a town situated in the hills about an hour north of Los Angeles in Ventura County. She chose Sonoma because she loves the landscape of the campus and the dorms, and was also interested in the classes offered in her major. She has been dancing since she was a young girl, and is a member of the Sonoma State Sapphires Dance Team.

Forsell also has dreams of moving to a big city, like New York or Chicago, and hopes to pursue a career in a similar metropolitan area after college. As far as her success, Forsell says she’s not allowed to share until the episode airs tomorrow at 10 a.m. PST on CBS.

“They told me I couldn’t say what I won or how far I went…I guess people will just have to watch to find out,” said Forsell.