Palo Alto castaway typecast as healer
At age 27, Palo Alto native Roark Luskin is making her prime-time debut as one of 18 castaways on the new season of “Survivor.” But it was way back in the fifth grade that she enjoyed her first “Survivor” experience.… Sort of.
The iconic CBS reality series had just premiered and was generating lots of buzz the summer before Luskin and her classmates at Phillips Brooks School in Menlo Park were preparing to graduate. To celebrate, the classroom moms threw a “Survivors of Fifth Grade” theme party.
“We had to do a bunch of little challenges and I remember a girl crying during the gross-food challenge,” Luskin says, referring to a delicacy made up of ambrosia and gummy worms. “She had stepped up to take the challenge but couldn’t bring herself to eat it. Still, she demanded a (participation) trophy, whichmade for such a millennial moment.”
As for Luskin, she skipped the gross-food challenge and moved to one in which she could put her swimming skills on display.
“It’s one of the first lessons ‘Survivor’ teaches you,” she says. “Don’t step up to take on a challenge unless you’re confident you can pull it off.”
Luskin, a social worker who graduated from Castilleja High School in Palo Alto and now lives in Santa Monica, hoped to put that and other lessons to good use when she joined her fellow contestants in Fiji for the 35th season of “Survivor.” This edition of the series features a “Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers” theme with the castaways divided into three groups based on howthey are perceived by others.
Heroes apparently are accustomed to being heralded for their achievements, while healers receive gratitude for their work, and hustlers must earn respect from others. Not surprisingly, Luskin, who has experience as a therapist, was cast as a healer.
“I’m a competitive person and I love games,” she says. “But with ‘Survivor,’ I’m mostly drawn to