Marya Sherron neitherexpectednor ever really wanted to be on "Survivor." In fact, even her long-runningfandom was an accident.
"My oldest was born —he was a preemie —when 'Survivor'started 21 years ago," Sherron toldIndyStar. "So, I was actually visiting him at the hospital all the time when 'Survivor'started, andI watched it there."
Sherron kept watching over the years, eventually with her first son,Trivé, and now with her youngest, Dylan. The 47-year-old Noblesville residentfilmed anaudition tape athome on a lark in March 2020.
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This Wednesday, after transforming her mind and body in preparation while enduring thepandemic at home, Sherron's family will gather at theirhome to watch her compete in the venerable reality series' 42nd season.
"Survivor" contestants are strictly forbidden from sharing any details about the production until they've been eliminated from contention for the $1 million prize.However, Sherron shares what motivates her in a one-minute promotional video for the upcoming season.
"Somewhere in life and motherhood and (being a) wife, I've lost a passion or a fire or motivation or something," Sherron saysas viewers watch footage of her furiously paddling a canoe in Fiji. "I don't know exactly what that thing is, but there's a piece of Marya out here somewhere... I'm looking for me, and I'm going to find her."
Sherron appears to be the first Hoosier competing since 2016, when former Pacers center ScotPollard finished 8th.
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Indianapolis native Rupert Boneham was a fan favorite on several earlier seasons of "Survivor," eventually also competing on "The Amazing Race" in 2019 and running unsuccessfullyfor governor in 2012.
Sherron is a professor by trade, having taught creative writing and Black studies for over 15 years at a variety of colleges, including Ivy Tech.She was born in Chicago and raised in Lansing, Michigan, eventually moving to the Indianapolis area with her husband, David.
She began homeschooling Dylan as the pandemic hit.In her IndyStar interview, Sherron explained the audition video was a way to show Dylan, now 11, the importance of facing your fears. The prospect of the mother and son competing together in a family version of "Survivor" frightened Dylan, so they filmed and sent in the video together.
"I was a superfanbut never wanted to play," she said. "Even in sending that video, it never occurred to me that someone would actually reach out."
When someone from "Survivor" did reach out that May, it was the death of her brother —believed to be the first nursein New York City to die as a result ofthe COVID-19 pandemic —a few months earlier that pushedher to go for it.
"I think life just looked different," she said. "It was defined differently, and one thing that I wouldn't have done March 1, in May it seems like this is a must. You have to do this. Life is not guaranteed."
The idea of competing was scary, as "sleeping outside, the bugs, the challenges —none of it was me."
"But that's exactly why I knew I had to pursue this," she said.
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Sherron threw herself into preparation.
She lost 20 pounds and tried out intermittent fasting as a way to prepare herself for not eating for long periods. She prayed regularly and kept daily journals to keep her mind focused.
Sherron considered her own strengths in tactical planning for the competition.
"It's cliché... alot of people are going to say their emotional intelligence or IQ is pretty high, but I think being in the classroom really lends to that," Sherron said. "You're constantly reading your audience. You're constantly reading facial expressions and body language to find out, did the dog really die this weekend? Is that why you don't have your homework?"
This week's episode —and perhaps many more in the coming months —will show how that preparation translated in the competition. It will air locally at 8 p.m. Wednesdayon CBS 4 WTTS.
Sherron, back home in Indiana, said she is already feeling motivated to write again. She's working on a family story as a way to "adequately capture the life of her brother."
And in the short term, she looks forward to showing her family her "Survivor" journey.
"I think that is one of the most exciting parts for me is sitting and watching it, specifically with Dylan," she said. "Because it started with us.It started with that day when he said 'hey, we should do this.'"
"I can't wait to see his face."
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Rory Appleton is the pop culture reporter at IndyStar. Contact him at 317-552-9044 andrappleton@indystar.com, or follow him on Twitter at @RoryDoesPhonics.
