Erika Casupanan was not the loudest player on season 41 of Survivor, but she proved to become a strategic threat, which helped lead her to a victory. During the Dec. 15 finale, Erika competed for $1 million alongside four remaining contestants. She found an advantage and won the final five immunity challenge, which allowed the group to vote out Ricard Foye, who was the biggest threat left to win.
Then, Xander Hastings won the final four immunity challenge and chose Erika to come to the final 3 with him. Xander didn’t realize how big of a threat Erika was, which ultimately proved to be a big mistake. The jury did view Erika as an impressive player, and she won with 7 votes (Deshawn Radden got one vote, while Xander received none). Learn more about Erika below:
Then, when a majority of the players came together to eliminate Shan Smith during the Nov. 24 episode, Erika played a big role in orchestrating where the votes would go. Even though it was Ricard Foye’s idea to target Shan, Erika helped devise the plan that would guarantee it would work. Learn more about Erika below.
1. What Does Erika Do?
Erika’s most recent job was as a Communications Manager in Toronto, Onatrio. Her official title was Senior Manager in Marketing Communications at Kijiji Canada, according to her LinkedIn page. Kijiji is a classifieds site in Canada, and Erika headed communications and PR for the company, as well as its Auto counterpart. She had the job from Feb. 2017 until March 2021.
Prior to wokring at Kijiji, Erika was at the communications firm, Media Profile, for nearly five years. She started as a Public Relationship Intern in 2012, then moved up the ladder as an Account Coordinator, Consultant and enior Consultant. Some of her projects included Google Canada, PlayStation Canada, Epson Canada, Grocery Gateway and more.
2. Where Did Erika Go To College?
Erika attended Western University and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Media, Information and Technoculture in 2011. She also did a collaborative program with Fanshawe college, where she received a diploma for Multimedia Design & Production in 2011, as well. Erika then received her post-graduate certificate in Public Relations from Humber College in 2012.
3. Why Did Erika Leave Her Job?
Erika decided to leave her job before coming onto Survivor. “I’m proud of the career I built for nearly a decade,” she admitted. “I’m even more proud that I was brave and walked away when I wasn’t passionate about it anymore.”
4. How Tall Is Erika?
It’s clear on television that Erika is tiny, but she’s even shorter than she looks! She admitted in her pre-show interview that she’s only 5’0″, and said she’s sure that will surprise some people. “My vibe makes me seem 5’3″,” she joked. In an interview with Parade, she added, “I think that people around here are going to think that I’m not an issue and not a threat at all [because of my size].”
5. Erika Loves Traveling
Erika’s Instagram page is filled with photos from her travels to places like Paris, Istanbul and more. “My goal was to pay off my student loans by 30 and I did it at 27,” she explained in her CBS bio. “Doing so allowed me to travel to so many places on my bucket list, get into combat sports and create financial stability for myself.”