When Ellen DeGeneres tweeted the University of Illinois campus to watch out for a “big surprise” the news feeds of all social media accounts began to flood every UIUC student’s page. The most important question— Is Ellen visiting campus?
On Monday, Feb. 24, #Ellenois was in town. Students started waiting for the surprise as early as 12 p.m. on the Main Quad. Classes were not an option for some, because ELLEN was going to be on campus, right? Well, not exactly. Jeannie Klisiewicz, Ellen’s producer, is a proud Illinois alumna and came back to the CU for a quick visit with the camera crew and a contest for the community to compete in.
Ellen tweeted at UIUC to dress up as favorite movie characters, and students flooded the scene with costumes. From Nemo and Dory to Buddy the Elf, everyone wanted to a piece of the prize.
Senior Amanda Anderson dressed up as Nemo, with one of her sidekicks, Kelly Cerf, as Dory. Despite the creative costume, the duo was not picked for the contest.
“I was excited to dress up,” Anderson said. “We just got there too late and people were already picked. We even brought bubbles as props!”
Senior Sofie Guerriero dressed up at Wilson from “Cast Away” and was picked as a finalist in the contest.
“Two of my friends picked me up and put me on their shoulders,” Guerriero said. “I was up there for about 2 minutes before Ian saw me through the crowd and motioned for me to meet them on the other side of the truck.”
Ellen sent the costume tweet only a few hours before the tapes started rolling. Guerriero said that Wilson was a reliable character and costume to choose.
“Wilson is my favorite because he loyal, he’s always around when you need him and he’s a great listener,” Guerriero said. “I’m just joking— I made the costume for Halloween because I really like the movie “Cast Away,” and I love making fun costumes!”
Contestants were asked to say their favorite line of their chosen character and whoever said it best, according to Ellen, won the grand prize: a trip to California to and tickets to her show.
Although Guerriero recited the famous line, “WILSONNNNNN,” she was not selected the winner, but still won a $500 gift card!
“I think I am going to spend the $500 on Bruce Springsteen tickets,” Guerriero said. “He just announced USA tour dates and I’d love to go to a couple shows.”
Even though she did not meet Ellen, Guerriero was still excited to be a part of the production. “I have always been a big fan of her show,” she said. “I wasn’t really sure if Ellen would be there or not, but I wasn’t upset that she didn’t make a physical appearance. We got to say hi to her through the TV they set up, so that was still really cool!”
Other students, however, were not as excited. “A trip to California would have been nice,” Anderson joked. “I would have used the $500 to go somewhere warm too! It was so cold; I was bummed that I froze for so long and did not get to see Ellen in person.”
UIUC student Nicole Baffin was also disappointed that Ellen did not make a physical appearance. “I truly thought she was coming,” Baffin said. “I think there may have been a little too much hype for such an unexciting event.”
There were smiles, there were frowns, but hey, isn’t that how TV works? Despite mixed feelings from students, #Ellenois brought some California warmth to the cold weather here in Champaign.