Brendan Shapiro, a gym teacher at Franklin Middle School, joined season 36 of the hit reality television show, Survivor, currently airing on CBS.

For those of you who don’t know, Survivor is a reality TV show where 20 contestants are sent to a private island for 39 days. The contestants are organized into tribes in which they compete in challenges. Basically, the tribe that loses the challenge must vote one player out of the game until there are three players left.

This season, the host, Jeff Probst, brought a new twist to the show by creating another element to the challenges. The winning tribe selects one member of the losing tribe to visit Ghost Island, where they will be reminded of mistakes that members from past seasons have made. On the island, the cast can find out valuable information that could help or hurt them.

Mr. Brendan Shapiro has been a gym teacher at Franklin MS for almost 3 years. Before he became a teacher, he co-founded Potomac River Running. He had been applying every year since 2001 to be a castaway for Survivor. “Finally, in 2015, I got very close to being cast but didn’t quite make it. At that point, I thought my chances were pretty slim, but after two years of no contact, I received a call out of the blue. I was thrilled,” he said, when asked about the application process.

One of the most important skills for Survivor is making alliances with the other players. Mr. Shapiro’s favorite part of joining the show “was trying to form relationships with people of various ages and from all walks of life. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed getting to know all of my fellow castaways.”

Many students have been thrilled to see their teacher on TV. Annie Wolsborn(9), a former Franklin Middle School student, said, “it’s really cool because you never expect to see someone you know on such a large TV show,” when asked what it’s like to see a former teacher on TV.

“This has been a cool year with all the Survivor posters around our school and everyone going up to Mr. Shapiro to ask him questions about the show. We are, also, all supportive with our Survivor shirts and signs. We’re proud of how far he got!” said Sara Boddie, an eighth grader at Franklin.

Although Mr. Shapiro has since been voted out of this season, he says, “I would love the chance to play again,” and he believes he has what it takes to make it to the end. In an interview, he said, “I had a great time, but I have a lot of unfinished business.”