Age: 26
Hometown: San Bernardino, CA
Current Residence: Miami, FL
Occupation: Medical Student
Hobbies: Cooking, making music, playing tennis
3 Words to Describe You: Charming, devious, resilient
Pet Peeve: My biggest pet peeve is being told what to do. And it’s not something that makes me mildly irritated, I deeply loathe being told what to do. Listen, I’m not saying I know it all, but I’d much rather try and fail at something than go along with what someone else tells me is “acceptable.”
What is the accomplishment you are most proud of?
Every time I set a new goal and accomplish it, I become most proud of that goal. Most recently, I’m most proud to be in medical school, with a master’s and bachelor’s degree under my belt. I sense that within this next year I’ll be most proud of winning Survivor.
What is something we would never know from looking at you?
You’d probably never know that I am very introspective and empathetic. Around people, I am always so outgoing, but I’m also someone who thinks a lot, sometimes overthinks and over feels, for other people and sometimes my own situations. I consider myself an empath and although I may not always appear to, I do feel other people’s emotions and I do feel strong emotions myself. I think I just do an above average job at concealing these emotions to not look vulnerable.
Who is your hero and why?
My heroes are my parents because they truly took parenting personally. They both come from challenging backgrounds and made it their duty to create a better life for my siblings and me. But above all, I find it most heroic that they are and somehow raised five genuinely good human beings, with good hearts and strong moral compasses. That can be hard to come by these days.
Which past Survivor will you play the game most like?
Well I mean let’s be real here, my game will be unprecedented! But I see my game being most like Cirie Fields socially and mentally, with a sprinkle of Wendell for pulling out competition wins in the clutch and jury management. I’ll be like Cirie and Wendell’s love child!
Why do you believe you can win Survivor?
I believe I could be the final Survivor because of a combination of social, mental and physical skills. I studied the game of Survivor like I would study for a medical school test and what I have found is that in order to outwit, outplay and outlast, you must have all three skills and these skills must work harmoniously together and shine at different points in the game. I feel like I am self-aware, which is something a lot of people lack. I am analytical enough to pick up on social cues and smart enough to critically think through obstacles that may present themselves, without becoming flustered. I know that I’m physically enough to help my team do well in challenges in the beginning and win challenges past the merge, but also, cunning enough to get any physical threats voted out before the game becomes individual. I am persuasive, but non-threatening. I have street smarts and book smarts and am empathetic enough to be read as trustworthy. I truly feel like I have the recipe to win!