‘Survivor’ appearance challenges Collierville resident Dwight Moore
As a child, Dwight Moore would sit with his family each Wednesday in the living room of their Collierville home and watch “Survivor” on CBS.
Now, Moore will star on season 43, airing Wednesday.
“When I turned 18, I was like, ‘You know, I want to apply for this,’” Moore, 22, said.
After applying the first time, he was rejected— but three applications later and Moore got his acceptance call early this year.
“I’m super excited to represent Collierville and the Memphis area pretty well,” he said. “Hopefully they’re proud of what I’m going to do out there.”
The Christian Brothers High School alum is the first person from Collierville to join the 18 castaways on the islands of Fiji, where he had to find his own shelter, food and warmth while attempting challenges to stay in the game.
The sole survivor wins $1 million and bragging rights.
“I’m more on the academic side of things, so for me to sign up for living outside and roughing it for God knows how long is not something you’d expect from me,” Moore said.
Moore, who spent his early childhood in Palo Alto, California, enjoys a good challenge, and after years of academic competitions and graduating from Stanford University, he wanted to push himself another way.
“All my life I’ve been the person who, I see a challenge and I want to go do it,” he said. “Even if it’s outside my comfort zone I want to prepare and study for it .... So I really hope people are excited to see how I adjust to this new way of living.”
Moore heavily studied tactics for surviving on the island but did not get to apply his knowledge until landing in Fiji.
Without giving too much away, he said not only did his studying come in handy but life lessons helped him get through the show.
“Living outside, where they don’t
give you anything to start with? Yeah, it’s challenging,” he said. “It is easily the most challenging thing I’ve done in my life, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”
Moore now expects any challenge thrown at him to be a “cake walk” in comparison to his time on “Survivor.”
As a more private person, Moore finds himself filled with nervousness but excitement as his screen time moves closer.
The excitement shadows his nerves currently, and he’s ready for his friends and family to watch his most challenging time yet.
“For me, to be able to go out there and be a part of that show, that’s something (my family) can cherish forever,” he said. “Watching this season is something we can always have that connects us. That’s something that means a lot to me, and I really hope it’s something my parents and I can treasure for a long time.”
Dima Amro covers the suburbs for The Commercial Appeal and can be reached at Dima.amro@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @Amrodima.