Megan Petra, second-year doctoral student in social work, holds up her ticket after being drawn first in the student ticket lottery. “I should have bought a Powerball ticket, since it’s apparently my lucky day,” she said upon learning of her selection. Afterward, she said: “It was very interesting to see the debate live. I think the most exciting part of actually being there was observing the crowd before the debate and seeing things that most people didn’t see on television.