MFA Student Appears on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire

Steve Sanders, graduate student at University of Arkansas, competes in syndicated television game show Wednesday, June 20.

Steve Sanders appears on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire with host Meredith Vieira.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Steve Sanders, a graduate student at the University of Arkansas, sat in the hot seat contestant on Who Wants to Be A Millionaire and won $4,000 answering multiple choice questions. The show was taped in November 2006 and broadcast Wednesday, June 20, on KTUL-TV in Tulsa.

Sanders is a graduate student pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing. As a graduate assistant, he teaches courses in composition, creative writing and literature.

Steve Sanders

A 1999 graduate of Edmond Memorial High School in Oklahoma City , he is the son of Bill and Aloha Sanders, of Sanders, Okla. His mother, Aloha, went with him to New York City and sat in the audience as his on-air companion for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Aloha Sanders works as a fourth grade teacher at Crossings Christian School, in Oklahoma City.

Sanders wore his "lucky suit" in the hot seat - a suit that his grandmother gave him when he graduated from college - complete with the same shoes. He said that the heel on one shoe was coming loose, but he couldn't even think of wearing anything but his lucky suit on Millionaire.

The show is hosted by Meredith Vieira, and contestants can win up to $1 million by answering progressively more difficult multiple-choice questions correctly. Each contestant gets three "lifelines" to help them in answering questions. Sanders used his "Ask The Audience" lifeline on the $300 question, which was: "Batten down the hatches" is a nautical expression commonly used to mean what? A) Get some rest, B) Reverse course, C) Help your neighbor, D) Prepare for trouble." Ninety percent of the studio audience voted for D, which Sanders used as his answer. He used his "50-50" lifeline on the $4,000 question, which was: "Rum is made by fermenting which of the following? A) Barley, B) Molasses, C) Rice, D) Honey." The "50-50" subtracts half the answers, leaving Sanders with "B" and "D" as options. Sanders correctly guessed "B."

He then used his "Phone-A-Friend" lifeline on the $8,000 question, which was: "Which of the following animals is not an ungulate? A) Pig, B) Camel, C) Rhinoceros, D) Raccoon." After using his last lifeline, Sanders was not sure of the definitive answer and to walk away with the guaranteed $4,000 he had already won rather than guess. If he had guessed incorrectly on the $8,000 question, he would have fallen back to $1,000 in winnings. The correct answer was "D," because a raccoon is not a hoofed animal.

When the episode of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire was taped, Sanders' brother, Dan, was serving in the U.S. Air Force and was deployed to Afghanistan. Dan called Steve the night before his taping to wish him luck in the hot seat. Steve Sanders said that with his winnings from Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, he wanted to throw a huge party to welcome Dan home from Afghanistan. Dan Sanders did come home to a nice welcome from friends and family in March.

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Charlie Alison, managing editor
University Relations
(479) 575-6731, calison@uark.edu