When Season 48 of “Survivor” debuts February 26, one new cast member will be making history.
24-year-old Eva Erickson is the first openly autistic player to compete on the reality survival show.
In her introduction video on the @survivorcbs Instagram page, Erickson says she was diagnosed with autism around age one. She explains, “The first doctors were telling my parents that I would never live independently. The I would never hold a job. My parents, they didn’t give up on me. And now I’m getting my PhD in engineering, and I was the first and only girl to play men’s hockey on the team at Georgia Tech. And I’m the captain of the men’s club team at Brown.”
Erickson Wants “Survivor” Season to Give People Hope
In her Survivor bio, Erickson says, “I want to go on ‘Survivor’ to show the world a version of autism they don’t often portray in mainstream media. I am autistic, but my autism experience is unique and will give people hope that even if they are on the spectrum they can still accept who they are and be successful.”
In fact, in an interview with “Parade,” Erickson labels autism her “super power.” She says, “That’s the thing with autism, is that a lot of people think is autism as being something bad and that it’s a big roadblock to success. But I believe that I would not have been as successful in my life without having my autism. Because I know it’s provided me with so much drive, because I get these fixations on things, which can be very bad. But I’ve learned in my life to channel that towards my goals and using my fixated mindset to achieve what I want.”
PhD Candidate Plans to Hide Her Intelligence
Erickson is a PhD student in engineering and fluid and thermal science at Brown University. She’s doing research for her thesis on how seals use their whiskers to locate objects in water, and how that can be implemented in sensory tech for the Navy.
But Erickson says hiding her Ivy League level intelligence is part of her strategy on “Survivor.” She told “Parade,” “I definitely want to be seen on my tribe as an athlete. I do not want them to know that I’m also very intelligent. That’s something that I’m gonna keep hidden because otherwise, I’m gonna be too much of a threat.”
In fact, Erickson crafted a back story that has nothing to do with engineering, PhDs or the Ivy League. “I’m gonna say I’m an NCAA hockey official. Because you take one look at me, you can tell that I am very fit. I’ve got huge muscles, especially for a woman, and my personality really shows that, yeah. And so I can really lean into that. And nobody’s gonna look at that side of my life and be like, ‘Oh, she plays men’s hockey. She’s an official. She also is probably really smart and goes to an Ivy League school.’ Nobody’s gonna think that. So, if I really lean into this one aspect about myself, I think I can hide the other part and keep that to my advantage. So I am being strategic. I am working on different things, but hopefully, they just see me as a physical competitor.”
“Survivor” Season 48 Features a Diverse Cast
CBS says eighteen new castaways will be abandoned on the breathtaking islands of Fiji for season 48. Erickson is the youngest at age 24. Fire lieutenant Chrissy Sarnowsky is the oldest at age 55. Occupations range from attorney to stunt coordinator to flight attendant to surgeon. All will be competing to be the sole survivor who takes home the $1 million prize.
You can catch the two-hour season premiere of “Survivor” Wednesday, February 26 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
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New Season of Survivor Has History-Making Cast Member