On the Scene with 'The Price Is Right' contestant Dianne Vicheinrut

Apr. 4—Dianne Vicheinrut's parents met while they were exchange students at California State University, Long Beach. They divorced when she was 2 years old and she spent the next three years living with her aunt in Thailand before returning to California to live with her mother and older sister. She was raised speaking both English and Thai.

Vicheinrut earned a master's degree in education at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, but discovered that teaching full time at the University Laboratory School didn't pay enough to live on—even sharing a three-bedroom apartment with five other young women. She got a second job waitressing at Duke's in Waikiki and found it paid better than teaching. Vicheinrut transitioned from waitressing to management—at Duke's, and then at the Cheesecake Factory, Hula Grill Waikiki and Outrigger Enterprises. Following the sale of Outrigger to mainland owners in 2016, she became a financial adviser with Northwestern Mutual in Honolulu.

Vicheinrut's mother had a stroke in 2019 and was diagnosed with cancer in December.

Vicheinrut, her husband and infant daughter were with her mother in California when she saw that "The Price Is Right " was looking for contestants. She applied, passed a Zoom interview, and was put in a pool of potential contestants who might get the call to "come on down."

On March 24, the viewing audience saw Vicheinrut, 44, win "more than $47, 000 in cash and prizes " including an electric guitar and an amplifier, a trip to Utah, a trip to New York, a set of backyard furniture and a 2021 Kia Soul.

How did you get on "The Price Is Right ?

They only pick so many people on a Zoom interview, and then you have to get a COVID test the day before. When you go in you're one of 12 and there's no guarantee you'll be called.

How do you prepare ?

I had two or three weeks from the time I found out that I had been accepted, so as part of my morning routine I would watch the show and take some mental notes—what are cars generally worth, what are the groceries on the mainland worth. I think I was pretty prepared with the prices, but I think I lucked out and got a pretty easy game where there was a 50-50 chance of winning. With "Price is Right " there is some skill involved but there is definitely a lot of luck.

Where did you get the T-shirt ?

Lindsay Callaway, my graphic artist at Hula Grill, did the design. I didn't have any other Hawaiian aloha attire in California. But in my mom's bathroom is one of those big plastic, obnoxious plumeria (blossoms ) so I stuck that in my hair, and then she had these floral Crocs that she wanted me to wear. They're not my taste, but she said, "The Crocs will be good luck for you. Wear my Crocs and you'll win."

What are you going to do with your prizes ?

With us just having a baby it's definitely been on our list to get a new car, so we're really happy with the car. They give you a license frame that says "I won this car on 'The Price Is Right.'" It's so cool ! My husband has decided he wants to learn to play guitar, and we want to use the trips to travel as a family with my mother when she's feeling better."

Why did you change careers from food and beverage to finance ?

I had gotten my MBA in 2011 when I was at Hula Grill. I had always worked for family-owned businesses, and now I was working for a corporation, and I decided I would be happier doing something with my two passions—education and finance. One of the things I teach is how important an emergency fund is. Even if you have "the most secure job " you need to have an emergency fund.

How do you stay connected to your Thai heritage ?

When I was growing up my mother insisted that I speak Thai, and now that I have a daughter—she's 9 months old—I speak to her in Thai. The language is so important. And not only the language, the culture. My mom would take us every Sunday to go to Thai temple, we would learn Thai language, Thai dancing and eat Thai food. The Thai community in Hawaii is not as big as it is in Los Angeles where I grew up, but there is a Thai temple in Pearl City, so Hawaii has it on a smaller scale. It's definitely something I want to make sure my daughter gets that exposure to.