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By JOYANNA LOVE | Managing Editor

Chilton County resident Lydia Patterson will be competing on tonight’s “Wheel of Fortune” episode as a part of “College Week.”

The episode will air April 3 at 6:30 p.m. on ABC 33/40.

“I have watched ‘Wheel of Fortune’ pretty much my whole life,” the Auburn University junior said. “My grandmother is a big ‘Wheel of Fortune’ fan, and that is kind of how I got into it. I never miss an episode.”

Over Christmas break in 2022, Patterson had made a list of things that she wanted to do, which included competing on the show.

“It is something I always said, ‘I am going to apply one day,’ and I was like there is really no better time than now,” Paterson said. “I knew I wanted to be on the college episodes.”

After filling out the online application with a video about why she wanted to compete, Patterson participated in interviews and a virtual group puzzle. She was notified via email that she had been selected for the show, and filming would be in a week.

“It was a very quick turnaround,” Patterson said.

In preparation to compete on the show, Patterson went back and watched previous episodes, paying attention to how the theme impacted the puzzles.

“I am very competitive, so even when I am just watching it at home, I kind of like to compete with the contestants,” Patterson said.

She also plays the game on their app to improve her skills.

She traveled to Los Angeles in January to compete and film the episode.

“It is definitely a lot different when you are playing in person, the nerves and everything” Patterson said. “I didn’t think I would be that nervous, but the game is so fast-paced.”

Stepping onto the set, “was crazy,” Patterson said.

“It’s so overwhelming,” she said. “There are so many lights, but they decorate the whole studio to match the theme of the game show that week … It was so cool to see all the artwork and stuff that goes on behind the scenes.”