Reality Exploits - Reality TV

Meet the Cast of Survivor: Fiji (And My Predictions About Tribe Divisions)

by Lynn on January 13th, 2007

CBS just released the information about the new Survivor castaways. They managed to survive a coup in Fiji to complete the show’s production, now we’ll get to see them survive on the islands. Here is the new cast (bios of each will follow after the jump.)

NOTE: Rita is older sister to Project Runway’s season 2 designer, Nick Verreos. I guess reality TV is their family’s hobby. ;-)

Born in Venezuela, Rita Verreos moved to San Francisco when she was eight years old. She attended the University of California, Berkeley, before transferring to the University of California, Los Angeles. She graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Italian and French Literature.

Born in Colombia, South America, Alex Angarita moved to California where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Irvine. He then moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he received his Juris Doctor Degree from Harvard Law School. While at Harvard, he was also a member of the Harvard Boxing Club.

Growing up in Compton, California, Anthony Robinson was raised by his mother and grandmother. After high school, Robinson moved to New Haven, Connecticut where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies from Yale University. While at Yale, he performed in two college plays and various college sketch comedy shows with Yale’s “The Fifth Humour.”

Born and raised in Lafayette, Louisiana, Kenward “Boo” Bernis works in construction during the day and manages the bar he owns at night. He has previously worked as a crawfish farmer and health club worker.

Cassandra Franklin was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She currently manages the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of California, Los Angeles, and has been employed by the university for 23 years.

Growing up homeless in the projects of Wilmington, North Carolina, Andria “Dre” Herd spent most of his childhood trying to keep his family together and alive. He slept on the streets, ate at soup kitchens and was able to survive by becoming a street performer with his brothers. In high school, Herd began playing sports and quickly became an athletic superstar, excelling in cheerleading.

Originally from Kansas City, Kansas, Earl Cole attended business school at the University of Washington in Seattle and received a National Scholastic Achievement Award before moving to Southern California. He is currently a Senior Advertising Executive who creates and manages new media strategies, brand marketing and advertising budgets for major accounts. He formerly worked as a marketing manager at a cable company, a sales analyst for a film company and a writer’s assistant for a television comedy series.

Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Edgardo Rivera spent his teenage years there while attending high school. After his senior year, Rivera moved to the United States where he attended Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in advertising while playing on the Varsity Tennis Team. During this time, he earned All-Conference accolades and was part of the Davis Cup National Tennis Team for his native Puerto Rico.

Born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, Erica Durousseau received a track scholarship to Grambling College, also in Louisiana, where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communications. She then moved to Jackson, Mississippi for three years before relocating to New Orleans. After Hurricane Katrina, Durousseau was forced to move to Lake Charles and then Baton Rouge.

Born and raised in Silver Lake, Minnesota, Gary Stritesky attended Silver Lake High School where he participated in football, basketball, track and baseball. He then attended St. Cloud State University and also trained at Brooks Barber School which ignited a 14-year career as a barber. He also participated in a real estate program at Anoka-Ramsey Community College.

Originally from Boston, James Reid received his high school diploma through an adult program. He currently works as a bartender and also sets up for private parties and special events at an upscale hotel. He was formerly in the United States Navy, stationed in Ridgecrest, California and San Diego where he eventually received an honorable discharge.

Originally from New Orleans, Jessica deBen attended approximately three years of college at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. She went on to attend the University of New Orleans and Tulane University.

Liliana Gomez grew up the second eldest of eight siblings in the city of Oxnard, California. Born of Mexican descent, Gomez always held strong to her roots and decided, with the permission of her parents, to move to Guadalajara, Jalisco, for one year when she was 11 years old. Surrounded by the rich, colorful folklore of Guadalajara, she discovered her passion for music and singing.

Born in Miami, Florida, Lisette “Lisi” Linares lived on again and off again in New York City, taking college courses at New York University Film School before moving to Los Angeles. She currently works as a customer service representative for a psychic service company. She has previously worked as a reservationist and paralegal.

Raised in Cincinnati, Michelle Yi is in her final year at the University of Cincinnati where she is studying fashion design at their college of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP).

Born in Seoul, Korea, Mookie Lee moved to Storrs, Connecticut at the age of three and then was raised in Northbrook, Illinois, for the majority of his teenage years. In 2003, Lee received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he studied Actuarial Science and Finance. He was also a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity.

Born in South Korea, Stacy Kimball was adopted at six months old and raised in Montpelier, Vermont.

Sylvia Kwan was born in Hong Kong, where she lived for eight and a half years before moving with her parents and five siblings to Los Angeles. After graduation from high school, she relocated to the Bay Area where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree and Master of Architecture degree from the University of California at Berkeley.

Originally from Malaysian Borneo, Yau-Man Chan attended All Saints Secondary School in Kota Kinabalu. He moved to the United States where he received a Bachelor of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He went on to receive his Master of Science degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Now that we see the cast, there are some pretty interesting but obvious things to observe:

• There is an odd number of cast members: 19
• Ten were born in the US and don’t seem to have lived outside the US. Nine were born outside the US or have lived outside the US at some time in their lives.
• Currently, ten of them live in California. Nine of them live elsewhere in the US.

Are we going to see the tribes divided by native to the US and immigrants to the US? If not, it would be surprising. It’s not as offensive as dividing them by ethnicity, but still in the same vein.

Or, what about Californians vs non-Californians?

Or four tribes: native Californians vs immigrant Californians vs US native non-Californians vs immigrant non-Californians. Now it’s getting pretty bizarre!

And what’s the deal with the odd number of people? Are they going to eliminate someone right off the bat? They’ve pulled that kind of stunt before. It doesn’t seem that unlikely.

I’m wondering if these are clues to some of the twists we’ve been told of. What do you think? Can you see any other ideas about what this is all about? Leave a message with your thoughts.

And be sure to tune in on Thursday, February 8 at 8:00 pm ET for the Survivor: Fiji Season Premiere.

Reality TV, reality-tv, Television, survivor, CBS Survivor

_{Photos from CBS.com}

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