 |
|
|
|
Springfield News Leader
By: Juliana Goodwin
February 6, 2003
With Heidi Strobel, you learn to expect the unexpected, says her father, John Strobel.
So he wasn’t a bit surprised to learn that his oldest daughter, a 24-year-old Drury University graduate, snagged a role on the upcoming season of “Survivor,” the series’ sixth.
“If there was something she wanted to do, she did it,” Strobel says. “You just have to know the girls, whatever they do is not a surprise.”
Click inside for more...
Kathleen Dugas, Heidi’s mother, says she was taken aback by the news only because her daughter hates bugs.
“I thought, ‘This will never work,’” Dugas says. “That’s like the biggest camping trip in the world. But then she said she wanted to do it and I knew the bugs wouldn’t bother her.”
Heidi’s philosophy in life is: “You bite off more than you can chew and then you spit the rest out,” says Dugas.
What Heidi bit off is a chance to win $1 million on CBS’ “Survivor: The Amazon,” which premieres Feb. 13. This installment of the show pits men against women, and friends say they think Heidi will be up for the challenge.
“She doesn’t take crap and she got that from Dad,” says her 16-year-old sister, Ashleigh.
Heidi was born in Bethesda, Md., in 1978. Her family moved to Conway in 1980.
When she was 7 years old, her family moved to Buffalo. Her parents divorced in 1992, but Heidi and her two sisters stayed with their mother until Strobel finished high school in Buffalo.
In 2002, Strobel graduated from Drury University with degrees in exercise and sports science, physical education, and secondary education with a minor in global studies. She’s now a physical education teacher in Eldon.
But the journey from Eldon to the muck of the rainforest was unexpected. Strobel started as a hopeful on “The Amazing Race.”
Strobel initially auditioned for “The Amazing Race” with Beth Knight, a physical education teacher at Lebanon High School and Strobel’s supervisor during her last semester of student teaching.
“One day we were talking about what had happened the night before on one of the shows and she said, ‘Hey, let’s do it,’” Knight says. “She did the paperwork. Heidi did the legwork.”
When “The Amazing Race” fell through, Strobel turned her attention to “Survivor.”
Heidi’s boyfriend, Justin Sinning, and sister Ashleigh shot the “Survivor” audition tape, which included Strobel on a bike, running and in front of her fireplace.
“She just talked about herself,” Ashleigh says. “How she has so much energy she could survive anything.”
CBS media contact Colleen Sullivan explains in an e-mail what qualities a “Survivor” contender must possess:
“When casting ‘Survivor,’ they look for Type A personalities with character, charisma and a genuine desire for the adventure of a lifetime. Additionally through physical and psychological evaluations, it must be determined that they can physically and emotionally withstand 39 days in such extreme conditions. Heidi Strobel met all these requirements.”
Heidi probably didn’t have any problem passing the physical exams portion — she runs six to eight miles a day and is a former aerobics instructor.
“She’s probably the most health-conscious person I’ve ever met,” says Sarah Ford, who has been friends with the castaway since seventh grade. “She takes care of her body. She’s the most athletic person I’ve ever met.”
Heidi is a vegetarian and her favorite snack is dry oatmeal, which she eats constantly, Ashleigh says.
Friends and family say Heidi applies the same discipline to her health that she does to her life.
“She was a doer,” says former high school teacher Terry Halleran. “A lot of kids watch things go by, but she makes things happen. She’s obviously doing well because she got on that show. She did that by doing.”
In high school, Strobel was a member of the cross-country team and Fellowship of Christian Athletes and served as a National Honor Society officer and vice president of Buffalo’s student council. She also was voted best personality.
“She’s just real competitive,” her father says.
High school sweetheart Herbie Cody is familiar with his ex-girlfriend’s determination.
“A couple of years ago she was hit by a car — a hit and run. She was pretty banged up — cut up, limping. I had to take her to the hospital. The doctor told her she had to stay off her feet (for several weeks).
“The next day, she tried running. She maybe made it a block and came back. I told her to listen to the doctor. But two days later she was out there again. This time she made it a few blocks. That’s her main love, running. She was hurt that she couldn’t run.”
“That’s so Heidi,” says current beau Sinning. “She’s driven to the point of being stubborn.”
But it’s that drive that attracted him to her.
“She went to Drury, which is not an inexpensive school,” her boyfriend says. “She ended up selling her car to pay her last semester. She was taking 26 hours, working, and still had time to have a life.”
Heidi also began and nearly completed her master’s while still working on her undergraduate degree.
“She sets very high standards and goals for herself,” Sinning says. “She is probably her biggest critic.
“Every day she wakes up and she has a full plate — that makes life exciting. She never gets bored. She wears me out.”
None of the castaways are permitted to speak to the media until the season ends or they are voted off the show.
Close friends say that regardless of what happens on “Survivor,” they are confident Heidi will capture the nation and maybe snare a modeling contract or commercial spots.
“I think after she’s on there it’ll put her in the spotlight where she’ll have more opportunities,” Ford says.
But it was the thrill of the show that reeled her in, says Sinning.
He says that she has an appetite for adventure and demonstrated this when she moved to Hawaii on a whim — alone and after her sophomore year of college.
“She wasn’t getting out of life what she thought she could,” he says. “What was awesome about it was she bought her own ticket, got on the flight and had nowhere to stay. She’s like, ‘Let’s just see what comes out of this. God will take care of me.’”
Strobel lived in Hawaii for three months, returning to Missouri when her grandmother died.
Still, there’s another side to the adventure seeker, says Ashleigh Strobel. The sister Ashleigh loves choreographs hip-hop dances, draws, is romantic, writes poetry and acts silly.
“She’s just a goofball,” Ashleigh says with a laugh. “Always spunky and jumping everywhere ... She’s romantic, a total sap.”
Ashleigh also describes her sister as considerate and sensitive and a young woman who loves her birthday — Oct. 29.
“She thinks her birthday is a national holiday,” Dugas says. “There’s a whole week build-up, she tells people, reminds them.”
Instead of a birthday party, Dugas will be hosting a “Survivor” premiere party next week and is printing up T-shirts that read “Heidi’s #1 Fan” on the front and has the “Survivor: Amazon” logo on the back.
“We have to make it a big deal,” her mom says. “This only happens once in a lifetime.”
The Lebanon teacher that Heidi trained under will be tuning in to cheer her on.
“She’s a great girl,” Knight says. “I hope she does well. I’ll be taping it,” then adds, “I can’t see her being cut-throat like the rest.”
Strobel’s former baby-sitter Mellissa Beard can’t believe the 3-year-old she used to watch will now be showcased on network television.
“Isn’t that neat?,” she says. “And to think I used to baby-sit her.
“I am excited to see it and I am ready for it to roll. We’ve got Aaron ‘The Bachelor,’ and now we’ve got Heidi.”
LINK
|
|
|
| |
|
