She’s a single mom and firefighter for the Chicago Fire Department. Now, she has a shot at a grand prize of one million dollars.
Marist mom Chrissy Sarnowsky recently competed in the popular show, Survivor, battling the elements in the wild for 35 days on the remote islands of Fiji. The show has already aired much of Season 48, which can be streamed on Paramount+ with a subscription. New episodes come out every Wednesday until the finale on March 26. While the taping is done, the outcome has yet to be revealed. On the show, Sarnowsky has not yet been eliminated and will be competing in the next episode.
Sarnowsky began the interviewing process to be a contestant almost three years ago, and was then waitlisted. Most contestants go through a tedious process of continuously applying and being waitlisted, which could last as long as ten years. For her, it only took two years.
“[I] never thought about giving up. I had a feeling I was gonna make it,” said Sarnowsky.
She spent many years physically training in the gym specifically for this role. In regard to the rigorous training, to her, it was nothing more than, “My usual workouts and then added swimming,” said Sarnowsky.
In Season 48 of Survivor, 18 contestants, referred to as castaways, are stranded on the Mamanuca Islands of Fiji. They are divided into three tribes that work together to survive, and complete various challenges. When a tribe loses a challenge, they must vote out one of their own. When only a few contestants are left, the remaining are merged into one group where the challenges become individual. The final contestant wins a grand prize of one million dollars.
Sarnowsky is competing alongside five other American castaways in the “Civa” tribe, which has yet to lose a challenge. She explained that the hardest part of the show was competing against the younger contestants. While her age might be a slight disadvantage, she’s proven so far that she belongs. As of the first two episodes, two people have already been eliminated and Sarnowski still remains among the other younger contestants.
This season was filmed about a year ago, and she has since returned to her normal life. In her absence, her son Joey Sarnowsky, a senior at Marist, eagerly waited for her return.
“When I was without her it was tough living alone, but I had other people to help me out. It’s cool to have her on Survivor, she’s been looking forward to this for a while and she loves the show so it’s only fair that she’s competing on it,” said Joey.
Joey has been her number one fan the whole way through, and he’s excited to continue watching her as the each episode reveals more of her adventures. While it was a thrill, she said she was most excited about having pizza with son when she returned home.
“We didn’t have a lot of food out there,” she said.
Sarnowsky says it was a dream come true to land this role and she hopes her story will inspire others.
“Chase your dreams. Sometimes it takes time, but if you really want it, go for it,” she said.
