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Oregon State student Matt Zedwick, a business management major in the ROTC program, appeared on the Christmas day episode of "Deal or no Deal?" The U.S. Army created an action figure in Zedwick's likeness.

OSU student appears on 'Deal or No Deal'

Business management major and Purple Heart and Silver Star honoree wins $227,000 on popular game show

By: Regi Seitz

Posted: 1/15/09

There is one age-old question most grooms think about on their wedding day, usually answered with an "I do," but only four days after his wedding, Staff Sergeant and OSU student Matt Zedwick had another question on his mind:

"Deal or no Deal?"

A member of Oregon Army National Guard and a business management major with OSU's ROTC program, Zedwick played for a million dollars on a two-hour Christmas special of Deal or no Deal.

"I'm very thankful, and very lucky," Zedwick said.

Endorsed as a military hero on the show, Zedwick was awarded the Purple Heart and Silver Star when he pulled two soldiers from a burning Humvee after the vehicle was hit by a bomb in Iraq.

The Silver Star is the third highest medal a soldier can receive, and Zedwick is the first soldier in Oregon to be awarded the Silver Star since World War II.

After applying almost two years ago, Zedwick and his new wife, Kristin, found out that they had the opportunity to be on the show, but the filming would take place a week and a half before their wedding. They were married on Sept. 6, but had to postpone their honeymoon to Cabo San Lucas.

"We knew Cabo would always be there, and this was an unbelievable experience," said Kristin, a senior in veterinary medicine at OSU.

The couple plans to reschedule their honeymoon for spring break, or use some of their winnings to travel Europe.

After their wedding, Zedwick and his wife packed up more than half of their closet so producers could find the right outfit. In the spirit of Christmas, producers picked a green shirt for Zedwick to wear.

"'You know I'm from Oregon State' I said, but I was just glad that my green shirt had a white stripe on it, not yellow," Zedwick said.

Zedwick taped the show in September and had to wait until the show aired in December before discussing it with anyone.

"We didn't talk about it at all, because we didn't want to take the chance of getting sued for a million dollars," Zedwick said.

As for the anticipation of waiting for the cases to be opened on the show, it can be a lot more nerve-wracking than the camera reveals.

"It would take several minutes to get the right shot of the girl opening the case," Zedwick said. "It's not like you see on TV."

It took over three hours to film the one-hour show, but Zedwick said that having friends and family in the audience helped pass the time.

"The experience was a lot of fun for everyone that made the trip because of the positive energy and attitude with which Matt and Kristin approached the show," said Shane Ward, a friend who flew in for the taping. "There was no pressure and no expectation other than to have a good time."

They were allowed to kiss, hug or pound fists with Howie Mandel, the show's host, but no palm-to-palm contact was allowed. There were specific rules about shaking hands or high fiving Mandel, Zedwick said.

Because the show was taped in September, they had to pretend it was Christmas. But with the studio covered with Christmas decorations, it was easy to get into the holiday spirit, Zedwick said.

"Inside, it was easy to believe it was Christmas," Kirstin said.

Behind the scenes, Zedwick, his wife and his brother Dan Zedwick and friend Ryan Tuttle were restricted to a small room, only able to watch episodes of Deal or No Deal or Caddy Shack. They had to have someone chaperone them everywhere they went and weren't allowed to talk to anyone before the show, in order to prevent cheating.

Zedwick plans to put most of the $227,000 in winnings into savings. He also hopes to put some money toward a charity for children who have lost their parents in the war and also toward scholarships for soldiers.

Zedwick would also like to have a memorial for his friend and fellow soldier who didn't survive the incident in the burning vehicle, Specialist Eric McKinley.

"The least I can do is help out the people I served with," Zedwick said.

"Matt and Kristin are both incredible people and I feel fortunate to have them as such great friends," Ward said. "I know that they have some good plans for their winnings, but I hope they are able to enjoy themselves a bit, for example, eventually making it to their originally-planned honeymoon destination."

Zedwick's war hero status was what landed him on the path toward competing on the show. Producers of the show were looking for war heroes, and the Military Office of Public Affairs recommended Zedwick.

The bomb that hit Zedwick's patrol in 2004 left him with 13 fragments in his body. He still managed to pull his commander, Sgt. Sean Davis, and his gunner, McKinley, out of the flaming vehicle.

Although Zedwick doesn't think of himself as a hero, he was flattered to be depicted in the online game, America's Army, and Xbox 360 game, True Soldier.

Zedwick was also turned into an action figure, available online and at Toys-R-Us.

Zedwick originally planned on choosing case number 11 as his bargaining chip. At the last minute, he picked case number six, in honor of his wedding day. Unfortunately, the case that he almost chose, number 11, was the million-dollar case.

But overall, the Zedwicks said the experience was a great one.

"We came into it with a fun attitude and we knew we would end up with something more than we came with," Kristin said.

"Best two weeks of my life," Zedwick said on the show. "I got to marry the girl of my dreams, and then we got to come on the game show, and win a bunch of money."

Regi Seitz, senior reporter

news@dailybarometer.com, 737-2231