Deshawn Radden is competing to win $1 million against four other remaining contestants on season 41 of Survivor. We will find out if he is the winner during the show’s Dec. 15 finale. This season started off strong for Deshawn, as he was on the dominating Luvu tribe before the merge. At the merge, he formed a four-person alliance with fellow Black contestants Shan Smith, Liana Wallace and Danny McCray, his closest ally from day one. They vowed to stick together to the end.
However, during the Nov. 24 episode, Deshawn and Danny teamed up with Ricard Foye to take out Shan, who was arguably the biggest threat to win the game. Shan called Deshawn a “snake” as she exited the game, and he was extremely hurt. Deshawn wanted to make the big move, but was very torn up about having to turn on Shan after their alliance decided they were going to try and make history together. It led to Deshawn breaking down in tears and getting extremely emotional at the next tribal council.
At the same time, he also lost that week’s immunity challenge, which meant that he had to play a game of chance at tribal. Deshawn had to choose between three covered symbols — two of the hidden symbols signified his exit from the game, while one meant he would get to stay. With just a 1/3 chance of keeping his spot in the game, Deshawn chose the right bowl. He then survived the Dec. 8 vote-off when the remaining majority alliance opted to vote out Danny instead. Now, he’s up against Xander Hastings, Heather Aldret, Erika Casupanan and Ricard with just three days of gameplay left. Here’s more to know about Deshawn:
1. Deshawn Is In Med School
Deshawn is currently a medical student living in Miami, Florida, according to his CBS bio. He also works as a Medical Scribe at ScribeOne, per his LinkedIn. With this job, he “works closely with physicians to help update and maintain patient records and order medications and/or labs.” In his CBS bio, Deshawn said that being in medical school is his proudest accomplishment. He is enrolled as a podiatry student at Barry University, and is supposed to graduate in 2023.
2. Where Did Deshawn Go To College?
Deshawn already has a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree. He attended California State University at Dominguez Hills from 2013-2017, and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Cell/Cellular and Molecular Biology. He then went to Midwestern University in Arizona from 2017-2018 and obtained his Master’s in Biomedical Sciences.
3. Deshawn Has 4 Siblings
Deshawn is one of five children, and he credits his parents with raising them all right. “[My parents] truly took parenting personally,” he admitted. “They both come from challenging backgrounds and made it their duty to create a better life for my siblings and me. I find it most heroic that they somehow raised five genuinely good human beings, with good hearts and strong moral compasses. That can be hard to come by these days.”
4. Deshawn Has Moved Around A Lot
Deshawn has lived in California, Arizona, Washington D.C. and Florida, and he says his ability to adapt to new places was a big part of what helped him in Survivor. “I’m really good at interacting with different people and coming across as a very easygoing guy,” he told Parade. “I have the street smarts, the book smarts and the social skills.”
5. Deshawn Was In A Car Accident Before ‘Survivor’
Deshawn found out he was cast on Survivor while he was taking a break from school at the beginning of 2021. “I had taken a leave of absence, gotten into a car accident and was figuring out some personal things all during the early part of that year,” he explained. However, shortly after, he got the call that he would be playing season 41 of Survivor, which helped turn things around!