While many University of Wisconsin students are still waiting to get their 15 minutes of fame, one graduate has already secured herself a place in reality TV history.
Jacquie Berg, a 2005 UW graduate, will appear as a contestant on the 17th season of CBS’ “Survivor.”
Berg, now a resident of Santa Barbara, Calif., said she applied to be on the show “on a whim.”
“I feel that I have had a lot of success just by pursuing things with passion and enthusiasm,” Berg said.
She will be one of the 18 competitors in “Survivor: Gabon,” which takes place in Gabon, a western African nation.
Berg has always been an active woman. While in Madison she was part of the crew, polo and triathlon teams. She also served as a lifeguard at the SERF and was involved in the Health Education Club on campus.
Always working long hours and earning five promotions in three short years at her sales job for a medical technology company, Berg’s manager told her that she was doing too much and ought to slow down.
“This discouragement made me want to go after even more goals,” Berg said. “I thought to myself, ‘What would be the most extreme and difficult challenge? How about trying to survive on a starvation diet in the middle of the wild?'”
Role models and mentors throughout the years, as well as her time at UW, played a big role in her current success, she said.
“At UW, I really tried to get a variety of experiences so that I was well-rounded,” Berg said. “I think the overall competitive and enthusiastic nature of Badgers makes anyone a great candidate for ‘Survivor.'”
The competition has already been completed, and looking back, Berg said that her physical strength and business savvy gave her an advantage over her opponents.
“I felt going into the game that my best strength [was] my physical preparedness,” Berg said. “Also, I always strategize whether in a business meeting or building rapport with someone.”
Yana Paskova, a 2006 graduate of UW and Berg’s college friend, said she wasn’t surprised to hear about Berg going on “Survivor,” remembering her as the “classic definition of an overachiever.”
“I’m definitely not surprised,” said Paskova, a former Badger Herald photographer now working in New York City. “She was always very active and involved in college activities. She tried to get an A in every single class.”
Berg offered a piece of advice to students looking to live life, and students looking to compete in “Survivor.”
“I like to live by the motto ‘The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible,'” Berg said.
Season 17 of “Survivor” will air tonight at 7 p.m.
— Kevin Bargnes contributed to this report.
Due to a reporting error, this article misquoted Paskova as saying she “tried to get into every single class.” She actually said she “tried to get an A in every single class.” We regret the error.
