A ‘WHEEL’ BIG DEAL

St. Mary’s teacher makes appearance on famed game show

Cara Green, Spanish teacher at St. Mary's School in Waterford, was a recent contestant on Wheel of Fortune. She earned $11,500 and took home second place. (Provided photo)

Cara Green is still spinning from an experience of a lifetime: being a contestant on Wheel of Fortune. 

The Spanish teacher at St. Mary’s School in Waterford was one of the three contestants on Wheel of Fortune in an episode that aired on Jan. 10. Green, who is celebrating 25 years of teaching this year, was chosen for the show’s 50th anniversary week, where each episode celebrated various milestones of chosen contestants.

Approximately 1 million people audition every year to be on Wheel of Fortune, and only about 600 contestants make it to air every season. 

“It really was a dream come true that I got to do it,” Green told The Evangelist. 

Cara Green (far left) at the watch party for her appearance on Wheel of Fortune, held on Jan. 10 at St. Mary's School in Waterford (provided photo)Green submitted an application to be on the show in September after some encouragement from her co-worker who had also applied to be on the show. A few weeks later, Green got an email saying she made it to the first round. 

“So I made it through that and made it to the second round,” she said, where Green and two others practiced buzzing in and solving timed, individual puzzles to test working under pressure.

Green was told she made it to the contestant pool but that getting on to the actual show might be a while, as some contestants wait up to a year before getting on. Then, right before Halloween, she got invited to be a part of the 50th anniversary week for an episode celebrating professional accomplishments. 

“It was a really special week to be there,” she said.

Green grew up watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy with her parents and aunt. It’s a tradition she continues with her husband and daughter, watching Wheel of Fortune at home: “I told them I’ve been practicing all my life for this,” she laughed. 

She arrived on set at 7 a.m. and waited until 6 p.m., as she was the fifth episode of six being filmed that day. Alex Trebek’s former makeup artist did her makeup, and she met Vanna White who greeted everyone before the show.

During filming, Green got to share how she was celebrating 25 years of teaching and had won the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Distinguished Elementary School Teacher Award in 2023. She also shared that the best honor of teaching has been seeing her kids come back over the years and share their successes. 

One of the best parts of the experience, Green said, was getting to meet all the contestants. 

Cara Green (r.), her husband, Brian, student, Jackson, and daughter, Kate, get ready to watch Green on Wheel of Fortune. (Provided photo) “We spent the whole day together,” she said. “You can’t have your phone, and your guests have to stay away from you because they don’t want to say they helped you cheat, so we really got to know each other really well. They were all really nice, really positive people.”

Green said the contestants have a group chat where they keep in touch and cheer on each other when everyone’s episode airs. It’s also been fun to share with her students: one contestant, a Christian minister from Texas, shared photos from a recent trip to Kenya, while another contestant shared photos from a wedding he attended in India. 

“It just was meant to be that we were with these people,” she said. “It was just great how we were able to meet each other. They tell you you’re not competing against each other, you’re competing against the wheel, and that took the pressure off.”

St. Mary’s School held a watch party for the episode when it aired. Friends, family and co-workers all came out to cheer on Green, who earned $11,500 and took home second place.

Green and her husband are putting the money toward re-doing their bathroom (which she has named the “Wheel of Fortune Deluxe” bathroom) and a family trip to Disney World. 

Added Green: “It was one the best days of my life.”