Standing inside the Price is Right studio in Los Angeles, Edwardsburg resident Shawn Simmerer felt his world stop when he heard his name called out by celebrity host Drew Carey in front of a live studio audience.

As he made his way toward the colorful stage filled with prizes and opportunity, Simmerer said he experienced a feeling he had never felt before.

“Oh, my God,” Simmerer said. “My heart was beating so fast. I couldn’t believe it. It was surreal, a moment of definite awe.”

Simmerer, a 41-year-old resident of Edwardsburg for the last three years, appeared on the popular game show, The Price is Right, when he visited Los Angeles for his birthday in August. The episode, which aired Friday, Sept. 22, shows Simmerer not only winning his showcase, but accomplishing a lifelong dream.

“It was simply a great experience,” Simmerer said of his time on the show. “It was the best birthday trip.”

Simmerer said he did not go to the taping of the show expecting to appear as a contestant. He also said that he didn’t prepare in any way for his appearance. Instead, he waited in line for hours just to experience watching one of his favorite shows live.

“There’s not really an audition [to be on the show], but they watch everybody from the moment you get there,” Simmerer said. “No one really knows beforehand that they will be on the show… Toward the end of the process, which is about four hours, they interview every single person in groups of 25. It’s really awesome. They ask you things like how you would act if you were excited and why you came to the show.”

Though he was not expecting anything, Simmerer said he began to get his hopes up to be a contestant after noticing the producers take an interest in him while he was still in line to get in the door.

“What’s crazy is, right after my interview, I literally heard my name. The producer who had interviewing me said, ‘Shawn,’” Simmerer said. “I told my friend, and he was like, ‘You’re going to get picked.’”

His friend was right. Simmerer was the second contestant that day to be called to the stage. He went on to do well on the game show, winning his final prize, which included concert, movie and travel vouchers, as well as a drum set.

“I won just under $10,000 in stuff,” Simmerer said. “I’m definitely going to do some international travelling, and it’s going to be awesome.”

This was not Simmerer’s first experience on the set of The Price is Right. He went to see the show in 1999, when Bob Barker was hosting the show. That time, Simmerer wasn’t selected as a contestant, though it was something he had always wanted to do.

“Right after that, I had a dream that I was a contestant, and this was [more than] 10 years ago, way before my episode aired, way before Drew Carey was on the show and way before the graphics they had now,” Simmerer said. “But my dream was exactly the way the show looks now, way back in 1999. It’s crazy.”

By coming on the show last month, Simmerer was able to fulfill both his literal and figurative dreams.

A long-time fan of the show, Simmerer said he has been watching The Price is Right since he was 2 years old, when his grandmother would put the show on in the background.

Having been a fan for so many years, Simmerer said the chance to be featured on the show was “indescribable.”

“It was such a high energy, awesome experience,” he said. “Every part of it is so great.”

Riding high of the trill of his experience, Simmerer said he cannot wait to go back for more. Next summer, as he must wait 12 months to appear on another game show as part of his agreement with The Price is Right, he said his is planning to appear on another game show.

“I’ve set my sights on Let’s Make a Deal,” he said. “And I’m going to win.”