The most recent addition to an elite group of Brown alums, Rafe Judkins '05 will soon be among reality TV vets Maggie Haskins '04 (ESPN's "Dream Job") and Yaya Johnson '04 (UPN's "America's Next Top Model") as a Brown alum-cum-TV contestant.
Judkins is about to join the burgeoning world of reality TV. He will compete on the next (and 11th, for the uninitiated) season of CBS's "Survivor," where he will be one of 16 contestants flung into the Guatemalan wilderness to fend for - and compete against - themselves.
Most of the competition has already been taped, but the show premieres later this month.
As the "Survivor" motto goes, Judkins will try to "outwit, outplay and outlast" the other 15 competitors. This season's theme is "Guatemala: The Maya Empire," and CBS's "Survivor" Web site features photos of the 16 castaways with Mayan ruins and sweltering jungle as a backdrop.
Judkins is a former Brown Outdoor Leadership Training manager, a concentrator in biology and anthropology, an ex-member of campus comedy troupe Out of Bounds, the founder of a campus cooking group and a longtime "Survivor" aficionado.
Judkins is under strict contract with CBS not to talk about the show until he either is voted off the show or wins.
Sandy Stonesifer '06 was Judkins' BOLT co-leader last year. Stonesifer said Judkins is "really engaged, energetic, and thoughtful." She said she and Judkins decided to pretend their BOLT trip was a season of "Survivor" and secretly voted people off. She was quick to add that once they got to know the BOLT participants, they felt bad voting them off.
Stonesifer also said that Judkins is so deeply committed to his interest in nature that, as a memento, his favorite camping sweater has endured three years of BOLT wilderness trekking unwashed.
Landon Judkins '09, Rafe's brother, said Rafe "has always been really competitive, of course," and was such an enthusiast he hosted weekly "Survivor" parties to convert his friends into regular viewers. In high school, Landon said, a new senior superlative category was created just for Rafe: "Most Likely to Be On 'Survivor.' "
Landon also said Rafe studied abroad in Australia, during which time he made frequent jaunts into the Australian outback for hiking and camping.
Much of Judkins' biographical information can be gleaned on any of a number of Web sites, including CBS's own and the one Landon created for his brother, at www.rafejudkins.net. According to his personal Web site, for example, one of Judkins' ambitions is to move to Los Angeles and develop his passion for screenwriting.
For those interested in how Judkins fares, "Survivor: Guatemala" premieres Thursday, Sept. 15 at 8 p.m.
Stonesifer said that above all, "even if Rafe doesn't win 'Survivor,' he is definitely going to provide some stellar entertainment."
