A fortunate win

Since her childhood, Lindsey Padgett has watched Wheel of Fortune with her father.

Even now, as a junior at the Capstone, the fashion retailing major makes a point to watch the game show every time she visits home.

"I've watched it as long as I can remember, and I've gotten mixed reviews about it from people," Padgett said. "Some of my friends think it's really nerdy, but everybody's grandparents think it's just the greatest thing."

Her father Richard Padgett said they love watching the show.

"It's been on for 25 years, so she's been watching it since she was just a little thing," Richard said.

Now, Lindsey has experienced the show from the other side of the screen - as a participant and winner.

In December, the Vestavia Hills native auditioned for the show at the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover. Another audition was held in January, after which, she received a call telling her she had been chosen to appear on the show.

"She did fantastically well," Richard said of the audition process.

Lindsey's entire family made the trip to Culver City, Calif., to attend the taping.

"We made it a little mini vacation, and all of us went out," Richard said.

Lindsey said she, her mom, dad, brother and sister flew to Los Angeles.

"They tape five shows a day, and I was on the fourth one, so I was there for all of them. [My episode] only took 22 minutes to tape," Lindsey said.

Padgett said she had mixed feelings about watching the taping of each show.

"It made me more nervous because, as each show was progressing, I knew I was getting closer, but it made me less scared because I could see how they were playing," she said.

"Right when I stepped up I got so nervous. I was like, 'I am going to throw up all over the wheel,'" she said. "I didn't know how prepared I was."

Lindsey said she prepared for the show by watching it and playing a Wheel of Fortune computer game, but those methods were limited in their effectiveness.

"There's not much you can do," Lindsey said. "You either have it or you don't."

Richard said he thought his daughter performed well, despite her early nerves.

"She was initially nervous when the game got started, but then she solved the first puzzle. From then on, she just magically came up with the answers," he said.

Lindsey won the most money of the three contestants on the episode, and credited her advantage to confidence.

"Both of the people I was with were really good, I just think their nerves got to them," she said.

Lindsey's episode of Wheel of Fortune aired on April 7, about a week after it was filmed.

"We've only watched about 30 times, I guess," Richard said.

Lindsey won $37,800, most of which she said she is saving.

"I've always wanted a laptop, and I never could afford one," she said. "So I'm getting one and putting the rest of it away. I'm definitely going to save as much as I can."

Her father said he fully supports the idea of saving the money.

"She'll be graduating next year, so that'll be a nice little start," he said.

Lindsey is spending next fall in New York City, working as an intern for designer Michael Kors. She said after she returns to the University and graduates in the spring, she plans to move back to New York, and the money will be a big help in the city.

"I'm kind of ready to break out of the shell and get out of Alabama," she said, adding that she will probably return to her home state after a few years.

"I took my first trip [to New York City] over spring break, and I fell in love," she said. "I'm so excited. I'm ready to go over there and do it."

Padgett said the current weeks, after her quick trip to California and before her semester in New York, have been fairly mundane.

"It was really fun," she said. "There's been a lot more publicity than I thought. It's been kind of a whirlwind. But now, it's been getting back to the real world, doing things at school, and moving on."

Richard said his daughter's ambition and initiative have impressed him.

"One of the things that I'm most proud of about her is that the put herself in that position," he said. "She had the initiative to try out and see it through to the end. She's a very determined person. Anything she wants to do, she does and sees it through to the end."