Nick Walker / Scroll
Jenny Hayes, a senior from Summerville, S.C., poses in a shirt she made and wore on The Price is Right starring Bob Barker.

If yes, they may have seen five of their fellow BYU-Idaho students on national television in the audience of The Price is Right, starring Bob Barker. They also may have seen Jenny Hayes, a senior from Summerville, S.C., spin the showcase wheel and win a trip to Bangkok, Thailand.

Tickets to The Price is Right are free, an all-day process awaits those who wish to be in the audience. The average time contestants spend in line is about seven hours.

“Waiting in line was not awesome, but it was worth it,” said Jessica Van Dusen, a junior from Coto de Caza, Calif.

The students arrived at the CBS studio in Hollywood, Calif., at 5:30 a.m. and stood in an already growing line of contestants-to-be. After a two-hour wait for tickets, they were seated for screening and waited for the show to start taping at 2 p.m.

“We had some missionary opportunities while we waited all day,” said Devan Bake, a senior from Fruitland, Idaho. “We met a lot of really great people and had a chance to talk about the Church with them.” Wearing homemade T-shirts that had ‘BYU-Idaho loves Bob Barker’ and ‘Bob Barker for President’ written on them.

“We made lots of friends and played games and sang songs while in line,” Bake said.

The students had opportunities to comment on LDS values when others in line asked questions about Latter-day Saints and Church schools.

Hayes said the highlight of the day came when she was called to “come on down” to Contestants’ Row at the beginning of the show. After several tries, Hayes out-guessed the other contestants, winning a hot tub and a chance to play a pricing game with Barker.

“I was so nervous. I didn’t let go of Bob’s hand. I think it freaked him out,” Hayes said. With a pull of a lever, Hayes won a trip to Bangkok, Thailand.

“I don’t know if I’ll end up going there,” Hayes said, “The taxes on the trip are a lot, and I don’t know who I would go with.”

The students also commented on how surprising the experience of entering the studio itself was.

“It was so small and ghetto – not at all like it looks on T.V.,” said Kristin Waite, a junior from Damon, Texas. “The set looked like they hadn’t changed any of the equipment since the ’70s.”

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