Psychology Alum Spins the Wheel, Wins Cash, Prizes

Matthew Jalazo, Psy.D.

“I’d like to buy a vowel.”

Contestants on Wheel of Fortune excitedly utter these words to host Pat Sajak and then hope Vanna White uncovers the letters they have chosen. NSU College of Psychology alumnus Matthew Jalazo, Psy.D., recently became one of those contestants. He spun the wheel and solved the puzzle—several puzzles, in fact.

Jalazo’s turn on the popular game show earned him $26,000 in cash and prizes, including a trip to Costa Rica.

His 15-minutes of fame—technically 22 minutes without commercial interruption—was the culmination of a journey that began when he was eight years old and first saw the colors of the wheel on his grandmother’s kitchen countertop television. He was in his 20s when his cousin got to meet Bob Barker on The Price is Right. She got to hear her name called with the phrase, “Come on down. You’re the next contestant on The Price is Right,” but unfortunately lost the game. Jalazo joked to her that it was now his singular life mission to get on The Price is Right to fix that disgrace to the family.

He did eventually audition for a spot on The Price is Right, and then tried using his celebrity impression of wrestler Hulk Hogan at a casting call for Deal or No Deal. Unfortunately, he didn’t make the cut for either show.

In November of 2022, Jalazo happened to see an advertisement inviting super fans of wrestling to try out for Wheel of Fortune, so he made a video and sent in the application. He was invited to a zoom audition, solved sample puzzles, and even dressed up as Hulk Hogan to entertain the casting committee and show his passion for wrestling. He remembered them laughing hysterically at his impersonation. Two hours later, he got the call to be a contestant, albeit not for WWE Week.

“They liked my energy and my enthusiasm, but not my wrestler impressions,” Jalazo said.

Jalazo traveled to California to be on Wheel of Fortune and put his psychology background to use when prepping for his appearance. Banking on his knowledge that it’s impossible to feel two emotions at once, he made sure he went into the taping feeling completely relaxed so it would be difficult to feel nervous. His goal was to be relatable—striking the balance between being entertaining and being ruthless in playing to win.

“I wanted to be a likeable, fun contestant, but I also wanted to play in a way that showed people I was taking the game seriously, because I understood I was very fortunate to get selected,” Jalazo said.

An army veteran and father of a 16-year-old son, Jalazo is a forensic psychologist and serves on the faculty of Albizu University. He has also participated in open mic nights for stand-up comedy.

“I tend to enjoy creative, spontaneous things where I get to show my personality,” he said. “It’s a nice balance with the serious work that I do.”

And while Wheel of Fortune is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Jalazo’s dream of competing on game shows isn’t done. His next goal is to appear on Let’s Make a Deal. He still wants to dress up as a professional wrestler and show off his Hulk Hogan impersonation to a televised audience.

“If you have a dream – whether trying to be a national game show, or something else that you think is not within reach – go, get it,” Jalazo said. “Appearing on Wheel of Fortune was an amazing experience—one I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life. But had I not been looking at my computer for five minutes on that Wednesday morning, it wouldn’t have happened.”

“The message is to be open to life experiences each and every day. No dream is too big.”

Posted 05/10/23