Like many of us, Tegan Durishin enjoys solving a good puzzle from the comfort of his home.

Now the Lehighton resident received the chance of a lifetime to solve puzzles on a national level.

Durishin will be a contestant on this Friday’s episode of the Wheel of Fortune, set to air at 7 p.m. on NBC/WBRE.

For the 2016 Lehighton Area High School graduate, competing on a show he grew up watching as a child was an unparalleled experience.

Becoming a contestant

Durishin, 24, said it was one day last spring when he was sitting at home watching television while also applying for jobs when he saw a commercial for Wheel of Fortune.

“I decided to search it up, went on their website, and they were taking applications through their website,” Durishin said. “I filled out a little sheet about myself, and also had to do a film of myself doing a 30-second to 1-minute video telling about who I am, why I would like to be on it (the show), and why I would be good for the Wheel of Fortune.”

At that point, Durishin said he had his girlfriend, Autumn Bickert, record the video and upload it.

“I waited to hear back, and a few weeks later, I got an email saying that I got a spot for an interview,” he said. “I got to do an interview over Zoom with one of the scouting producers and (a few) others.”

Durishin explained how the interview process worked.

“It was a cool little interview where you talked about yourself for like five minutes, and you had to do like a mock interview, like a simulated puzzle solving against other people,” he said. “I was pretty nervous for that.”

Durishin said that nervousness soon turned into excitement.

“Just the interview process was really exciting; I didn’t really expect much to come out of it,” he said. “They told me they’d reach out in about a month, they never did, I didn’t hear back, so I kind of let it go and figured I didn’t get on.”

That was until Durishin said he received an email stating that the game show had a spot for him.

“I just started a new job (as an underwriting assistant), and my boss was OK with it, very supportive,” he said. “Everyone knew I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.”

Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

In late August, Durishin said he flew with Bickert to Sony Studios in Los Angeles to do the showing.

“I was out there for a few days; the show was supposed to air in November, but ended up getting delayed to now,” he said. “So now the excitement’s building back up.”

Durishin said he’s followed the show ever since he can remember.

“I grew up watching a lot, because of my mom, it was her favorite show,” he said. “We would watch it together, me and my parents watched the Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy every night during COVID.”

However, it isn’t quite the same for Durishin now that he’s experienced it firsthand.

“Watching it at home on our couch, it’s a little easier to solve the puzzles, but being there in person, it’s so easy to see the difference,” he said. “I thought, ‘how crazy would it be to be on the show and to do it in person; it couldn’t hurt to apply.”

Durishin said he’s always liked puzzle-solving and word games.

In high school, Durishin played football, wrestling and tennis, all of which he said he loved.

But nothing could prepare him for the experience of competing on a nationally-televised game show.

“At the studio, (seeing) how crazy the production is, it’s interesting seeing it happen live as you’re doing the show,” he said. “It’s very involved, they have so much going on; it’s wild to see it happening.”

Durishin said he was truly fascinated by the experience.

“Throughout the process and doing the show, just being at a studio in Los Angeles, was an amazing experience,” he said. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience; it’s great to have that.

“I had such a blast doing the show, everybody working there was so nice, so helpful; they really seem like great people. It was more like a celebration, everyone was happy; it was a great experience.”

Durishin said the adventure will stick with him forever.

“It’s not really about the money, it’s about the experience,” he said. “That’s what’s great in itself.”

He is prohibited from talking about the outcome of the show, but the Times News will provide updates after the show.