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TCU 360

TCU 360

All TCU. All the time.

TCU 360

Students discuss religious topics in a small group. (Photo courtesy of tcuwesley.org)
Wednesday nights at TCU’s Methodist campus ministry provide religious exploration and fellowship
By Boots Giblin, Staff Writer
Published Mar 27, 2024
Students at the Wesley said they found community on Wednesday nights.

TCU alumna competes on “Survivor” for million dollar prize

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Monty Brinton
“Your Job is Recon” – Michaela Bradshaw on the third episode of SURVIVOR: Millennials vs. Gen. X, airing Wednesday, Oct. 5 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Monty Brinton/CBS Entertainment ©2016 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

 A TCU alumna has already survived seven days in Fiji.

Tonight, viewers will find out if Michaela Bradshaw made it through to next week’s episode of the CBS reality show “Survivor.”

Bradshaw, 25, graduated TCU in 2012 with a degree in strategic communication. She is one of 20 castaways competing for the show’s $1 million prize.

Bradshaw said in an email that after meeting many individuals who dream big, she decided to make her dream a reality.

“After using the extra income from my business to accelerate paying off my student loans and building my nest egg, I decided to chase my own dream of breaking into the entertainment industry by competing on Survivor,” Bradshaw said.

She applied for the show in the fall of 2015 and was selected to be a contestant in March 2016. Filming began about a month after she was casted.

Michaela Bradshaw on the second episode of SURVIVOR: Millennials vs. Gen. X, airing Wednesday, Sept. 28 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS Entertainment ©2016 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Michaela Bradshaw on the second episode of SURVIVOR: Millennials vs. Gen. X, airing Wednesday, Sept. 28 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS Entertainment CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

This season’s theme is “Millennials vs. Gen X” and Bradshaw, among nine others, were placed on the millennial tribe. Some of her tribe mates include a snowboard instructor, a bartender and a high-school student.

She wrote that some of her key millennial characteristics are nature and spirit of adventure. 

In the premiere episode her tribe won the first immunity challenge, but they lost the immunity challenge in the second episode and were forced to eliminate a member.

Although she couldn’t say how she did on “Survivor,” in terms of her experiences with tribe members: “Of course there were challenges interacting with tribe mates, but my mentors always say ‘the more problems you solve, the more money you make.’”

While the show was being recorded, Cyclone Zena struck and eventually forced the castaways to evacuate. Bradshaw said the experience was something even television couldn’t fully capture.

“I was literally drenched, freezing, sitting in mud, surrounded by strangers, and getting bitten by ants for 15 hours straight without any idea as to how to get out of the situation,” Bradshaw said.

She said that spending the night in the storm was difficult, but it allowed her to become stronger.

“I just told myself, ‘if you make it through this night, Michaela, you can make it through anything,’” she said.

Bradshaw said that her experience on the show gave her a broader perspective.

“Since the show, I notice myself evaluating the value of each person in my life,” she said. “I make a point to prioritize connecting with people who bring positive energy and distancing myself from people who carry negative energy.”

She also said she has enjoyed watching the experience happen on television.

“It’s like I finally get to share the highlights of an experience that was so secretive and lonesome with the people I love most,” Bradshaw said.  

Moving forward with the show, Bradshaw said viewers can expect her to be determined, ambitious, honest and competitive.

New episodes of “Survivor” air Wednesdays at 7 p.m. CST.

 

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