Taking one look at Drew can give you a pretty good idea of what he brings to the table. He’s not going to be the biggest or strongest man out there, but the vast knowledge and mental fortitude accumulated through his top-level education will prove his worth. The class of ‘19 U of D Jesuit alum is trying his hand at the 45th season of Survivor. Drew graduated from the High as a National Merit Scholar and a pivotal component of the Quiz Bowl and Mock Trial teams. He ran for Senate at the High and is therefore no stranger to rigorous competition. Drew went on to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania, a top-ranked university in the country. He recently decided to push himself outside of his academic aspirations by choosing to join Survivor as a member of its new set of “castaways.” Through an arrangement with a CBS representative, I was able to sit down with Drew for an in-depth interview.
Q: Survivor is known for its complex social dynamics and strategic gameplay. How do you plan to leverage your academic background from U of D and critical thinking skills to navigate alliances, form relationships, and strategically position yourself within the game?
A: “I think the biggest preparation I had to go out and do for survivor was definitely running for Senate at U of D. That was a holistic experience. You were always in scrutiny. It was a lot of focus and you had to constantly manage yourself and do it for months. Survivor is only 26 days: it’s way less time but a higher-octane environment. I think running for senate really gave me the social and politics skills that went above and beyond just academia.”
Q: Coming from U of D and UPenn, you’ve likely interacted with a wide range of people and ideas. How can your exposure to diverse perspectives and backgrounds help you build connections and potentially form alliances with the other contestants on Survivor?
A: “Survivor is made up of people from all walks of life. And I think U of D really encompasses that diversity because you have people from all types of backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses. I think one of the things that U of D does so well is taking down those barriers. So when I go on Survivor, similarly, I’ve been prepared to interact with everyone.”
Q: With a prestigious academic background, choosing to participate in a reality show like Survivor is a unique decision. Could you share the thought process and factors that led to your decision to participate in this adventure, and how you believe it aligns with your personal aspirations?
A: “The days of adventure are past. You know, the swashbucklers, the Lawrence of Arabia types. Now it’s cubicles and social media, it’s not very exciting. Survivor is an incredible opportunity to put yourself beyond your limits physically, to lead society, and to see how you would perform in a bare-bones, primitive world. For me, that was always attractive. We like to think we know who we are, and we like to think that we’ll succeed, and we’ll weather the waves, but you’re never really sure. To go and put yourself in an alien environment where everything is against you, that’s a real test. I think that I’ve always wanted to push myself. I did at U of D, I did in college, and this was the greatest push, the greatest challenge, that I could come up with.”
Q: What is one thing that you learned about yourself through the process that you didn’t know coming in?
A: “Being in school is all about checkpoints. This assignment is due this day, and this test is on this day. You stagger your life in order to complete these checkpoints. But on Survivor, it’s totally real. It kind of reveals the silliness of the checkpoint system. It doesn’t actually matter. You have to look at the big picture. You can’t just go day-by-day, assignment by assignment. So that was my biggest takeaway from Survivor. Coming out of Survivor, I found myself coming back to my religious commitments, which is something that I had honestly left behind a while ago. I think that my biggest takeaway was just a fuller scope of life.”
Drew has already lived out the Survivor experience and has emerged a new man. Used to being tested academically and intellectually, this physical survival-of-the-fittest style competition presented a unique challenge. Watch Drew’s experience this season as he competes against 17 other contestants on Survivor 45, airing Wednesday, 9/27 on CBS.
