When Angelica Loblack watched Survivor with her mom and grandma growing up, they all joked that Loblack would never compete. The thought of being dirty and having sand under her toes sounded miserable.
But on Wednesday, Survivor season 51 will premiere on CBS with Loblack among its 21 cast members.
Loblack, 29, is a postdoctoral fellow for Indiana University’s Center for Research on Race and Ethnicity in Society and visiting assistant professor of sociology at IU. She kept her casting “a little under wraps” for her family, she said.
“My mom literally said when she found out that this was better — like me going on Survivor was better — than giving her a grandbaby,” Loblack said. “That’s how important and significant it was for her.”
Survivor is her mother and grandmother’s favorite show, Loblack said. “Castaways” are stranded on a beach in Fiji, challenged to form their own society, forage and hunt for meals and compete in challenges for extra food and advantages. Castaways are voted off one by one every few days until a “Sole Survivor” remains and wins the $1 million grand prize.
Loblack’s biggest motivation to go on the show was to give her mother and grandmother the opportunity to watch her throughout the season.
“As they age and as their health kind of goes through certain complications, I was just like, ‘I have to get on this show and give them this experience so they can be at the watch party,’” Loblack said. “And it’s not in memory of them, but with them. I want to experience it with them.”
Loblack also said she wanted a challenge after she finished her Ph.D. program at the University of Maryland in 2025. She felt unstoppable.
“What happens to me when I’m like, put in a difficult position, or I’m fatigued and hungry?” Loblack asked. “Am I still who I think I am?”
Going into the show, Loblack said she was most nervous about being hungry. She doesn’t like seafood or eggs, which makes up some of the diet the castaways are able to scrounge up. Loblack questioned whether she would still be social and strategic on an empty stomach.
Loblack said she tried to eat a boiled egg every day before she left to push herself to expand her palate.
“I couldn’t do it,” Loblack said. “I can’t force myself to like those things. It’s a texture thing.”
To prepare for the show, Loblack trained in swimming, bought a balance beam and started working on her grip strength. She played volleyball in high school and considers herself an avid runner, so she was hopeful that would translate into the show’s challenges, which include endurance challenges and puzzles.
Loblack has used Survivor as a teaching tool in her Sociology of Families class at IU. She remembers playing an episode for the class from Season 48 where several castaways work together and connect to show students how families can go beyond relation.
CRRES Director Sonia Lee said Loblack was “pretty secretive” in the beginning about being on the show. Lee said it felt special to know what was going on and because it was close to the summer, the filming didn’t disrupt Loblack’s obligations or teaching schedule at IU. Both Lee and CRRES Administrative Assistant Dalton Kumar said they had never watched Survivor before.
“Some people are gonna be surprised that a professor has been cast on Survivor, and I think in part that’s because of the stereotype that we have that professors are boring,” Lee said.
Lee said she loved that Loblack would be representing professors and academia in a fresh new way.
Kumar said he is interested to see how Loblack’s sociology background would help her on the show. He described her as easy to talk to and work with, friendly and passionate.
“I will say that if we watch Survivor and anybody’s mean to her, I’m gonna hop on cancel culture,” Kumar said.
Members of IU’s sociology department have a watch party planned for the Survivor Season 51 premiere at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Social Science Research Commons in Woodburn Hall. Episodes will air weekly on Wednesdays.
