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'Survivor' Season 41: Research scientist Evvie Jagoda is set to compete on CBS show

Evvie Jagoda plans on using their empathy, strategic mind and general optimism to win the show

While most reality competitions test your skill and ability to work under pressure, no one does it quite like 'Survivor'. The top-rated show is the ultimate test of the mind, body and emotions, with contestants constantly finding themselves in high-intensity situations. It is truly the survival of the fittest, both physically and mentally. 

Back with Season 41, 18 new castaways find themselves in Fiji, ready to take on gruelling challenges that are sure to put their minds and body to the ultimate test. With Jeff Probst returning to host the show, this season promises game-changing twists. Are you looking to meet the new castaways? Continue reading!

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Who is Evvie Jagoda?

Evvie Jagoda is a 28 year old PHD student from Westchester, NY, who currently resides in Arlington, MA. Jagoda enjoys cooking, biking and nature-based activities such as hiking, camping, swimming. As per their LinkdIn proflie, Jagoda is a Research Scientist at Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Her professional bio reads -- "I am a human geneticist with a background in gene expression and inter-population variation. In my research, I have performed advanced wet lab techniques such as the Massively Parallel Reporter Assay and CRISPR-cas9 in vitro knock outs and created computational pipelines to analyze human genotype and phenotype databases to yield concrete insights highlighted in 8 papers and 5 conference presentations. My current work focuses on building regulatory maps of the human genome across diverse cell types".

They look up to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Jagoda describes themselves as extroverted, enthusiastic and smart and states that their hero is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. "She is just such a badass woman and withstands so much hate, sexism, racism, ageism and somehow never gives up or gives in. I so admire the way that she stands up for regular people and against huge opposition
from powerful forces with just her voice, passion and beliefs. I genuinely cried when watching her speech after a Republican congressman called her a bitch." they explained "She stood there in Congress, so poised and dignified, yet still so clearly channeling intense fiery passion against abusive men and for women everywhere who have to deal with that BS. She said, "having daughters is not what makes someone a decent man. Treating people with dignity and respect is what makes a decent man." That's just so true and clear and makes me feel seen by a politician for the first time ever." they added.

Jagoda calls out sexism when they see it, as it is one of their biggest pet peeves. "Men. Not all men, but I cannot stand machismo and man-splainers - anything like that drives me insane. [In grad school] I deal with A LOT of know-it-all male energy, and it's alot." they explained, while talking about pet peeves.

Jagoda's life experiences give them an added edge

With three tribes this season, Luvu, Ua, and Yase, Jagoda is a part of the Yase tribe, along with contestants Xander Hastings, Eric Abraham, Tiffany Seely, David Voce and Liana Wallace. 
In a conversation with Parade, they explained that accepting themselves it what will help them win.

"I think a life experience that prepared me for the game was actually coming out. I really wasn't able to admit to myself that I was queer until after college. It was something that I was keeping below the surface for a long time. Eventually, I came out, and it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I spent my whole life thinking, "Will it be okay if I was gay?" And then it turns out that from coming out, my life is so much better than okay." they said. "It's like 1000 million trillion times better than it was before. That really opened my eyes that when you actually let yourself be yourself and go for it and do things that are scary, it can have the most amazing transformative effect. And I try to take that lesson forward into every aspect of my life. And coming into the game of Survivor, it's all about taking huge risks and things that seem like they're going to be scary, and hopefully, they have a really amazing outcome." they added. 

Apart from this, they also believe that their empathy, strategic mind and general optimism is what sets them apart. "I really think I have the right combination of skills to win the game. I'm extremely smart and strategic and know the game very well and will constantly be thinking about how to put myself in the best position to win. But I'm also so silly and goofy and physically small and clumsy that I think people will really underestimate me and not target me. I've got an infectious smile and personality that will help me make great bondswith people. I'm super open and vulnerable with people so I think people will feel close to me, tell me information and want to work with me." they said. "I think people will have warm feelings for me at the end of the game even if I vote them out. I'm good at reading people's vibes and am very sensitive to shifts in people's energy so I think I'll be able to figure out if people are lying to me or planning to betray me. Even though I am very empathetic to people, I also can have a wall up in me and always put my closest people above anyone else, and I know I will be able to betray someone for the sake of winning the game. I'm also relentlessly optimistic and will not ever give up or count myself out." they explained. 

Catch the premiere of 'Survivor' Season 41 on September 22 at 8/7c on CBS, the CBS app and Paramount+