What motivated you to audition for Survivor?

It was kind of a random thought and something I knew I could do. It just so happened that there was an open casting call on a day that I didn’t have to work at my internship in Florida. It was at a cool restaurant and they were giving away free certificates, so I decided to check it out, get some free stuff and see all the crazy people who thought they could do this too. I guess in the end I was the crazy one because I was chosen!

What went through your mind when you found out you had been chosen to compete for Survivor 22: Redemption Island?

I was driving when I received the call that I was chosen and I had to pull over because there were so many thoughts going through my head. First, is was disbelief because I was chosen to have this experience, then excitement, but I couldn’t tell anyone right away so I was sitting on the side of the road celebrating in my car alone. I could only really tell my immediate family that I was going on the show.

Did you do any physical training before heading out to Nicaragua?

I am naturally physically fit, but as soon as I found out that I was chosen for the show I was in the gym working out and also eating as much as possible to gain weight. I was trying to gain more muscle, but also gain as much fat to sustain me for 39 days. I was harder to gain weight than I thought, but it was kind of fun too!

You are a southern girl who grew up in Smiths Station and has competed in the Miss Alabama, Miss Alabama USA, and are a former Auburn Cheerleader. How do you hope to use all of this to your advantage when competing on Survivor?

I don’t know if I could use much from my pageant experiences, but from college cheerleading I learned about working with many different personalities in a group similar to the group environment in Survivor. I was hoping my experience leading 10 girls and 10 guys and having to keep everyone on the same page would work to my advantage.

texas holdem strategiesgirls clit

Having been an Auburn University cheerleader, what did Auburns National Championship victory mean to you?

Oh my gosh! You feel like this is a once in a lifetime experience and you don’t really think about it until you get closer and closer and you are still winning games. When you realize it’s in your grasp for a school, a team, a community and a family you love and are a part of it’s the most amazing thing to see it actually happen to such great people and such a great community.

Being a cheerleader and being so close to it, you want nothing more than this for a school that you cheer for and represent. Just to know that the football team and cheerleaders experienced that and will be able to say for the rest of their lives that they were such a big part of that is amazing.

What do you do while not filming Survivor?

 I’m currently working in Columbia, S.C. in pharmaceutical sales. I love my job and where I live, but the only drawback is that it’s far from home. When I’m not working I like to travel back home to visit family and spend time with friends.

Any advice you’d give to anyone who wants to be on the show?

From the spectrum of being the best experience of my life and the worst experience, it is at the top and bottom. My advice for anyone who has an opportunity to be a part of the show is absolutely go for it. I learned so much about myself and the luxuries in life that we take for granted and just putting myself out of my comfort zone, which I think is a very important thing to do. I would never take any part of it back. You must express how much this game means to you and how much you respect it, because you have to love and want every bit of it to survive.

Past competitors often talk about the first thing they couldn't wait to eat after competing on Survivor. What was the first thing you wanted to eat after filming Survivor?

It was weird because your favorite foods aren’t necessarily what you crave; it is more of what your body needs. I am a huge fan of Thai food and I wanted nothing more than my sisters curry chicken. My sister makes amazing curry chicken and when I got home she made the biggest pot of curry chicken I have ever asked for. svm