The Saline Reporter
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Local grad on 'Road Rules'
Kristen White selected from among 25,000 hopefuls for MTV gig
By Brian Cox, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: February 8, 2007
Life, says Kristen White, is her performance.
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It's that outlook and her gregarious, wise-cracking personality that likely brought the 2000 Saline High School graduate to the attention of casting directors for MTV's "Road Rules."
White was selected in early December from among some 25,000 hopefuls to be among eight new cast members on the revived reality show that has been on hiatus since 2004.
White's odyssey to fame and fortune in the world of reality television began on a whim when she heard MTV was holding an open casting call for its popular show "Real World" at a sports bar in Ann Arbor.
She went, without telling anyone. "Who knew?" she figured. Besides, she had a strategy.
"I promised myself I'd be myself 100 percent of the time," she said. "You never know what they want, so being myself was the safest bet."
It was a bet that paid off big.
The vivacious 25-year-old was called back for another interview, and then another, and another. Ultimately, she was flown to Los Angeles for a final interview. When she got off the airplane, she was stunned to find someone holding a placard with her name on it.
That's when the novelty of it all hit her.
"That was when I was like, 'What is going on in my life,'" she cracked.
In Los Angeles, she learned that she was being considered not for "Real World," but for a return of "Road Rules 2007: Viewers' Revenge."
That was fine with White.
"I wasn't going to say no to anything MTV was going to offer," she said. "It's the opportunity of a lifetime."
In December, she got the call that she had made the final cut. She was in. It felt surreal, she said.
White joined the seven other "newbies" who make up the show's pit crew for filming in Malibu and New York. The show centers around a six-member cast made up of veterans from past "Road Rules" seasons, who will be the initial passengers in a recreational vehicle and will take on twisted challenges, such as bungee jumping in a car, to earn prize money.
Each week, viewers will vote for one member of the pit crew to challenge one of the veterans for a spot in the RV.
White fits right in with the cast.
"The pit crew is a riot," she said. "I like to say they're my fabulous, dysfunctional family. We're eight very, very different people, but we get along real well."
None of her friends or family is shocked White was selected for the show. She always has been a ham with an engaging and overflowing personality. Her dream job, she said, would be co-hosting a talk show with Regis Philbin.
The former captain of the Saline High School cross country team snatches opportunities where she finds them.
"I feel like every time a door closes, a window opens and I just keep going through the window," she said.
The daughter of Joanne and Rodney White, White graduated from Eastern Michigan University in 2005 with a degree in communications. She is currently working at Knight Steakhouse, waiting for the call from producers saying she's next up to challenge a cast member and earn a spot on the central cast.
She likes her chances in a challenge.
"I'm not a big chick," she said, "but I pack quite a punch."
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