Mookie Lee knows what it's like to survive in the hyper-competitive business world of Chicago. But come February, the question in millions of television viewers' minds will be: Does he also have what it takes to compete in the cutthroat world of the popular show Survivor?
Lee, an LAS alum who received his bachelor's degree in actuarial science in 2003, is one of the players on Survivor Fiji, which begins airing February 8 on CBS.
"I came out here for the experience-to understand what it means to not have material things, to live very meager," says Lee, a 25-year-old loan manager in Chicago, on the Survivor Fiji website. "I'm good at getting along with people. And this is a big people game."
However, he says the physical challenges on Survivor could be difficult because, although he is athletic, he doesn't run regularly.
In addition to the usual interpersonal and physical challenges, Survivor Fiji has encountered some unique political challenges-a bloodless coup in which the military took control of Fiji's government in December. Jeff Probst, the show's host, told Entertainment Weekly that the coup caused some minor disruptions, but filming on the 14th season of Survivor was not interrupted.
In other words, the in-fighting continued among the Survivor Fiji cast, even as the political in-fighting took place in the Fiji capital.
According to Lee, he thinks people who know him would be surprised to find out he's on Survivor. "I'm a city person," he notes. "I like to sleep in a bed and eat decent meals. I think people watching me catch my own fish, start a fire, and sleep on palm trees are going to be very surprised."
