Carson Garrett

Despite being a superfan with a history of practicing replica Survivor puzzles at home, Carson concealed his keenness for the game with his unassuming personality, which allowed him to form a tight bond with his tribemates Carolyn Wiger and Yam Yam Arocho. Following the merge, he went on to be well-trusted by members of all three starting tribes and was able to dictate every elimination with the information he was afforded. At the final four, Carson was seen as the most strategically influential player remaining which, combined with his ineptitude at fire-making, prompted Heidi Lagares-Greenblatt to choose him as her opponent in the fire-making showdown. He was eliminated in fourth place after Heidi's record-breaking performance in the challenge.

Profile[]

Retrieved from Parade.com

Age: 20
Hometown: Rome, Ga.
Current Residence: Atlanta, Ga.
Occupation: NASA Engineering Student
3 Words to Describe You: Multi-faceted, exuberant, innovative
Why do you want to be part of SURVIVOR? I want to be part of SURVIVOR to win the game I know and love and prove that age does not define success. As someone who has obsessively studied the evolution of game theory within SURVIVOR, I cannot wait to test myself and see how my unique thought process and strategic background fare on a game built upon the idea of adaptability. While I believe that winning SURVIVOR requires some luck, I think that my intuition and discernment will lead me down a path to victory.
What's one life experience you feel has prepared you for the game? Over the last year, I have completed two semesters' worth of workforce development training at NASA. My first semester specialized in proposal writing, and my second dealt with mission concept design. I was the project manager of a team of 10 students. Working with a variety of people from all over the country to develop a formal engineering report was a challenge.
Which previous player do you identify with the most? Who do you think you will play most like? I identify most with Christian Hubicki. Christian embraced his quirks and nerdiness to disarm his opponents into wanting to work with him. He used his charm and intelligence as a weapon, and despite being labeled as the "weakest" male on the David tribe initially, he became one of the biggest threats after the merge. I intend to model my game after him but focus more on diminishing my threat level until the endgame. Unlike Christian, I do not plan to reveal my engineering background (especially given the perceptions attached to rocket science). I want people to solely view me in a "Mr. Nice Guy" light and I plan to ensure no one will detect my deeply strategic underside.
What will you value in an alliance partner? The quality I value most in an alliance partner is loyalty. I would love to be in on an alliance with someone who, no matter what, would never vote me out. Though personally, I am willing to do anything and work with anyone if it puts me in a better position to win this game.
Favorite Hobbies: 3D printing, Settlers of Catan, photography, Minecraft, strategic board games, space/engineering YouTube videos, Civilization V
Pet Peeves: Mosquitoes, delayed texters, people who text me essays, people who play on their phone during a movie, smacking gum in a silent room, people who radiate negative vibes, people who think the moon landing is fake.
What is the accomplishment you are most proud of? I am most proud of being the recipient of the National Student Volunteer Award for 2022 in Consult Your Community, a nonprofit consulting organization that spans 26 college chapters. After working my way up to being president of the Georgia Tech chapter, I was beyond honored to find out about how many of my peers nominated me for the award.
What is something we would never know from looking at you? Most people would never know that I 3D print and design SURVIVOR puzzles for fun. Part of my preparation for SURVIVOR has been practicing the 3D puzzles I've made.
Who in your life is your biggest inspiration and why? My great-grandfather is my biggest inspiration in my life. Growing up in poverty and working his way up to being a chief engineer at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, my great-grandfather was able to help shape NASA projects such as Skylab and Saturn V during the peak of the space exploration era.
Why will you be the Sole Survivor? I will be the Sole Survivor because of my natural ability to push myself to succeed. No matter what challenge I am presented with, I never give up and always prepare to the best of my ability. I plan to use my emotional intelligence, logical mind and kindness to bring home the million-dollar check and become the youngest SURVIVOR winner in the process.^[1]

Survivor[]

A devoted superfan of the series, Carson dedicated a significant portion of his time preparing for his Survivor outing by practicing with 3D-printed replicas of past Survivor puzzles, as well as putting on 30 pounds to condition his body for the game. He started the season on the Tika tribe, which lost the opening Reward Challenge. Faced with the Savvy or Sweat challenge, Carson and Helen Li were nominated by their tribemates to complete a brain teaser to win supplies for the tribe. They emerged successful and were celebrated by their tribemates for their endeavors. Thereafter, Carson and Helen linked up with Sarah Wade and agreed to form a trio between the "younger" Tika members. After Bruce Perreault was evacuated for a head injury, the trio held the majority against outsiders Carolyn Wiger and Yam Yam Arocho.

On Day 4, the tribe decided to start searching for the key to unlock the mysterious birdcage at their camp. Carson's efforts proved futile when he saw that the birdcage had been opened. Explaining that he had read up on body language before the game, Carson immediately pinned Helen as the culprit, leading to a breakdown in trust between the younger Tikas. After Tika lost their first Immunity Challenge, Carson initially intended to side with Helen and Sarah to vote out Carolyn. However, realizing that Sarah had lost her vote on the summit, he was swayed by Carolyn and Yam Yam's pitch to vote three-strong against Helen. At Tribal Council, he flipped, leaving Helen and Sarah blindsided. Still, he wanted to keep his relationship strong with Sarah and tried to restore her trust in him.

After the Reward Challenge on Day 8, Carson was sent to the summit with Ratu's Jaime Lynn Ruiz and Soka's Josh Wilder. There, Carson was delighted to learn he had received a Hidden Immunity Idol that he could use up until the start of the individual game. Joy quickly turned to worry as he learned he would be swapped to one of the two other tribes. Drawing the orange Buff, Carson replaced Jaime on Ratu. However, the Ratus were quick to welcome him, with Matthew Grinstead-Mayle immediately spilling the beans that Jaime had an idol which, unbeknownst to Carson, was a counterfeit that had been planted by Matthew himself. As Ratu continued their streak of Immunity Challenge wins, Carson endeared himself to his new tribe and formed tight relationships with Kane Fritzler and Lauren Harpe.

On Day 12, the tribes convened on Ratu beach for the start of the individual game, and Carson reunited with Carolyn and Yam Yam. At the Earn the Merge challenge, Carson's skills with puzzles helped his team win immunity and the merge feast. After returning to camp, he went along with the majority's plan of voting out Josh, whom everyone suspected had an idol, with Kane as the secondary target. However, Carson accidentally blabbed to Kane that he was the backup plan, throwing the game into disarray as he began to scramble to get himself off the hot seat. This resulted in Yam Yam being put up as the backup plan instead. Regardless, at Tribal Council, Josh did not play any idol and he was voted out as planned.

Entrusted by everyone on the merge beach, Carson's game proceeded smoothly for the next few days. However, after winning a reward of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Carson fell ill and had to recuperate from a bout of nausea. Insulated by his numerous alliances, Carson and Yam Yam were able to play double agents by ostensibly siding with the Ratu Alliance to vote out Frannie Marin; in actuality, they were sharing information with Danny Massa on the rival Soka Alliance, informing him of the vote so that he could save Frannie with an idol they believed he had. The espionage worked, leaving Brandon Cottom to be blindsided after Danny played his idol on Frannie at Tribal Council. Because they had voted with the Ratus, Carson and Yam Yam continued to enjoy a good working relationship with Jaime, Kane, and Lauren until the Tika Three drew a line in the sand and formally flipped to the Sokas to blindside Kane at the final nine.

Now with Ratu in the minority, the Soka Alliance decided to turn on each other, and the Tika Three went along with helping them whittling down their numbers. After winning his first individual Immunity Challenge, Carson leaned towards Danny's plan of voting out Frannie, who had proven to be a significant challenge threat. However, Carolyn pushed to get rid of Heidi instead, explaining that she was untrustworthy and asserting that she had gotten Jaime and Lauren onboard with the plan. Carson and Yam Yam weighed their options; ultimately, they concurred that Frannie had become too much of a threat, and managed to sway Jaime and Lauren to vote with Danny and themselves to eliminate her, blindsiding Carolyn in the process.

Carolyn returned to camp angry and disappointed by the apparent betrayal, and was inconsolable despite Carson and Yam Yam's best efforts. Fortunately, by the next day, she had calmed down and reaffirmed her loyalty to the Tika Three, much to Carson's relief. When Yam Yam told Danny that Heidi had cast the stray vote against him the previous night, Danny did not trust Yam Yam's recount, and this planted the seed in his mind to start targeting the Tikas. After Yam Yam won the Immunity Challenge, Danny tried to pitch for a split vote between Carolyn and Carson. While the latter remained oblivious to this plan, Carolyn picked up on the tension around camp and informed Carson that he was on the chopping block, but assured him that she would play her idol on him. This left Carson anxious, but he took comfort in knowing that he had an out with Carolyn's idol. For the rest of the afternoon, he continued trying to persuade Jaime and Lauren to vote with him. At Tribal Council, fearing that he might be the next to go, Carson shared about living as an outsider who did not fit in in the real world, and celebrated his transformation as a Survivor player. When the votes came back, Carolyn stuck to her promise and played her idol for her ally, surprising her tribemates. Danny was the next to go, as it turned out that Jaime and Lauren had sided with the Tikas.

Returning to camp, Carson expressed his gratitude to Carolyn and was firm in his resolve to keep the Tika Three together. To keep Jaime and Lauren comfortable, he spun a ruse to make them believe he was gunning for Carolyn. However, Yam Yam was less committed, believing that Carolyn's idol play made her a big threat to take to the end. Carson and Yam Yam were forced to toe the line between their head and heart but, ultimately, Yam Yam was persuaded that it was better to keep the trio together heading into the final five. At Tribal Council, Carson and Yam Yam continued their ruse, prompting Heidi to play her idol as insurance and leaving Carolyn in trepidation that she might be the next to go. However, the Tika Three stayed strong and voted out Jaime. The next morning, Carolyn, Carson, and Yam Yam agreed to stay united and go to the Final Three together. On the basis of his strategic game, Carson believed that he had a good shot at winning this Final Three combination. After winning his second Immunity Challenge, he joined his alliance in voting out Lauren.

The next day, Heidi pulled off an upset against the Tikas and won the Final Immunity Challenge. She told the Tika Three that she was considering giving up her immunity so that she could boost her resume by eliminating one of the alliance. Carolyn and Yam Yam were both comfortable with their fire-making skills, but Carson was fraught with anxiety as he could not get a fire to start during his practice attempts. As he suffered an emotional breakdown, Yam Yam comforted him and coached him on building a fire. At Tribal Council, Heidi followed through with putting herself into the fire-making showdown and taking Carson as her opponent. Despite outdoing his expectations and getting a fire to start, Carson was defeated by Heidi in record time, exiting the game in fourth place.

At Final Tribal Council, Carson was eager to help Carolyn and Yam Yam articulate their case in front of the jury, notably making gestures and expressing his encouragement to his allies. In the end, Carson voted for Yam Yam to win the title of Sole Survivor, helping his friend win in a 7-1-0 jury vote.

Post-Survivor[]

• In February 2024, ahead of the Survivor 46 premiere, Carson and Carolyn started a Survivor-themed podcast titled "Let's Get Tribal".^[2] Production would take the podcast down a few weeks later.

Trivia[]

• Carson is the youngest contestant to compete on Survivor 44.
• Carson wrote each of his ballots by replicating the NASA font.
• Carson is the only member of Tika to be on the jury.
  • He is the first person since Malcolm Freberg (in Philippines) to be the sole representative of their starting tribe on the jury.
• Carson lost 25 lbs. during his time on Survivor 44.^[3]
• During one of his exit interviews, Carson was surprised with an award of $15,000 by Australian musician Sia.^[4]

References[]

Survivor 44 Castaways
Brandon Ratu	Bruce Tika	Carolyn Tika	Carson Tika	Claire Soka	Danny Soka	Frannie Soka	Heidi Soka	Helen Tika
Jaime Ratu	Josh Soka	Kane Ratu	Lauren Ratu	Maddy Ratu	Matt Soka	Matthew Ratu	Sarah Tika	Yam Yam Tika