My trek to the stars began with a radio contest on KZOK-FM in Seattle. The contest ran for three weeks with two finalists picked each week. Unfortunately, I didn't hear about the contest until the second week, so I only had two shots at qualifying. My first attempt was a miserable failure when I tried calling in on my cell phone from school. Although I knew the answers to the trivia contest, I couldn't get through the phone lines. I made a decision that morning that I was going to take the following Thursday morning off work so that I could use my landline at home to qualify. Wednesday night rolled around and I sat poised with a notepad and watched "Hatchery.? Four pages of notes later, I was ready for the contest. Again, I called and couldn't get through. The question was "What was the Starfleet regulation that allowed Phlox to relieve Archer of command?? The answer was Regulation 104, Section C, but the line was busy. While I frantically hit redial, at least six callers gave the wrong answer. When I finally made it through, I had to wait for two more people to attempt the answer. I was in agony as one woman said "104, section ... 3,? and the next caller said "section 5.? Finally, my line was selected and I shouted the answer. At that moment, my incredible journey began.

Those of us who qualified had to submit a photo and brief essay to KZOK. My essay read, "As a high school English teacher, I have my students compose a list of 50 things they want to do, see, or accomplish before they die as a journal entry. I always share my list with the kids, and they laugh when they see 'Be on an episode of Star Trek' as one of my goals. They don't believe that my goal is attainable therefore shouldn't be on the list. I want to prove to them that as outrageous as a dream may seem, anything is possible! You can help me teach this valuable life lesson by voting for me.? After submitting my contest entries, I went to school and straight to my principal. As I was one of the last qualifiers, the final web voting was opening that afternoon. I told my principal all about the contest and asked him if I could make an announcement over the intercom. He agreed! As soon as voting opened, students all over the school logged on and voted for me. After being announced the winner the following morning, I instantly earned celebrity status at school. As I walked across the commons toward the Performing Arts Center to teach my acting classes, kids were hanging out the windows yelling their congratulations and that they had voted for me. Over a month later, the kids are still talking about it and eagerly anticipating the episode.

One of the most common questions I've received since my day on the set of Enterprise is "Was it all you had hoped it would be?? My answer is a resounding "yes? and a surprising "no!? What shocked me most was that I wasn't more star struck and nervous on the set. In fact, when the cameras started to roll for my first scene, I was relaxed and the situation felt incredibly natural. I believe my comfort level was due in part to the fact that I'm a drama teacher and amateur actor at home, but it was primarily due to the fact that everyone on the set made me feel welcome and important! I honestly did not expect such star treatment. From the moment I arrived on the Paramount lot at 10:00 a.m. until leaving at 10:00 p.m., someone attended to my every need. I've written nearly 20 pages about this experience in my journal, so I'll try to condense the general highlights here.

David Gardner from UPN escorted me, along with Bob Rivers (KZOK DJ) and Brian D'Arcy (charity auction winner), around the lot all day. He made sure we were where we needed to be, always had comfortable seating (in Guest Actor chairs, no less!), kept us well hydrated and fed all day, and acted as our official photographer. He made sure that everyone on the set knew that we were the contest winners. Again, I was amazed to learn that almost everyone knew we were coming and seemed genuinely excited to meet us!

Our first stop of the day was in the costume shop for our fittings. This was the only moment I had been dreading. In the real world I'm an average size 12, on the set of a television show I'm obese! It was obvious that I was not going to fit into any of the female costumes, yet the male costumes didn't work either. An hour later, after taking a few measurements and the clever placement of some stick pins, my uniform was ready. I was already impressed with everyone in the costume shop after our tour, but I realized that they are miracle workers after trying on my uniform!