Smith Alumna Lacey Brauer Catches ‘Lucky Break’ on Wheel of Fortune

Lacey Brauer, a 2009 alumna from the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University Maryland, caught her “lucky break” and won big on ABC’s Wheel of Fortune.

Brauer, 22, attended the Smith School for a Marketing degree, with a concentration in Sports Management as a part of the Sports Management Fellows Program. She appeared on the popular TV game show on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009.

“I randomly decided to fill out a simple online application last winter, and in the spring I got an e-mail saying I'd been selected to come to an open audition in Washington, D.C., in May,” says Brauer of how she got to be a contestant on the show, “I went to that audition of about 300 people and was told I'd find out in about two weeks if I'd been selected for the show. I got a letter in the mail on my birthday – May 23rd – saying that I'd been selected as a contestant and I had up to 18 months to appear on the show.”

Brauer gave a shout out to the University of Maryland while she was on the show. She made it to the final round and ended up solving the puzzle, which read “Lucky Break.” She won $46,390 in cash and prizes, including an $8,000 trip to Grenada.

“As soon as the letters I'd guessed came up, I knew what the answer was,” says Brauer. “I was so excited, because so often you see the contestant get unlucky with the final puzzle. I hugged Pat Sajak! My dad and my friend ran onto the stage to help me celebrate. Sometimes I still can't believe it.”

Brauer currently works in the ticket office for the Baltimore Ravens in the processing department. She says her main responsibilities include maintaining accounts, processing season ticket and event payments, and distributing tickets. She bought her parents a new flat screen HD TV with some of her winnings and says she plans on putting a down payment on her first house, which will be somewhere in Baltimore, sometime this spring.

Jessica Bauer, Intern, Office of Marketing Communications