"SURVIVOR" CONTESTANT'S DETERMINATION, GRIT BRINGS SUCCESS IN DENTAL HYGIENE PROGRAM

Scrounging for food, bartering for supplies and grappling with a harsh, tropical climate might not seem the best way to prepare to enter a dental hygiene program.

But when Liberty native Darrah Johnson receives her degree during the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s 51st annual commencement May 25, the time she spent on the Pearl Islands won’t be far from her mind.

Johnson was “stranded” along with 15 other contestants on the CBS television show Survivor late in the summer of 2003. The same grittiness, determination and spunk that helped her survive 37 of 39 days on the show allowed her to meet the daily demands of the dental hygiene program in the School of Health Related Professions.

“Dental hygiene training isn’t easy,” Johnson said, “but my instructors and classmates always tell me, ‘You made it through Survivor, you can make it through this.’”

Johnson beat overwhelming odds just to make it onto the program. She was one of approximately 65,000 who sent in an audition tape for a show that wasn’t even her first choice – she had originally planned to try out for CBS’ The Amazing Race, but her partner backed out at the last minute.

She received several callback interviews for Survivor before she was told she had been selected for the program. Then the fun really began. 

“I knew the competition was really hard, and I knew I had to be in shape,” she said. “So I began running five miles a day and working out. And I knew I wouldn’t be eating a lot of food, so I started eating less and less.”

Her preparation paid off when she and the other contestants were dropped off with only the clothes on their backs and told to find what supplies they could. Located near the equator just south of Panama’s mainland, the Pearl Islands’ tropical climate would be a hardship for anyone. Add the uncertainties of sustenance and shelter along with a contest designed to pit players against one another in physical and psychological challenges – all under the scrutiny of a national television audience – and a simple competition quickly can turn into a pressure cooker.

“Out there on the island, it’s very hard – you’re not getting much nutrition, you work, you’re tired, and you don’t sleep at all,” said Johnson, who lost 17 pounds during the show. “There’s a lot more of a mental aspect to the game. There’s a lot of watching what you say, listening to what others say, not saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, because that can get you sent home quickly. You have to make sure you can trust whomever you have an alliance with.”

No one knew that she was a contestant on Survivor except her father, her mother and her brother, each of whom was sworn to secrecy – giving out any information regarding her whereabouts would result in a $500,000 fine. When she returned from filming the show, Johnson still had to remain quiet about any details.

Johnson made her national television debut on the CBS Early Show, which introduced the cast of Survivor: Pearl Islands and previewed the series. She became an instant celebrity, especially in her hometown. As each show aired that fall, the questions began to pour in.

How long did she stay on the island? (She made it to the final four competitors). Which of her cast mates voted her off the island? (For the record, it was Sandra, Lillian and Jon; Lillian already had been voted off the island in an earlier contest, but was allowed to return). How many immunity challenges did she win? (She became the first female contestant to win three consecutive immunity challenges).

Johnson remained tight-lipped throughout the series until after the episode in which she was voted off the island aired. Suddenly, patient confidentiality issues didn’t seem so tough.

When she returned from the show, Johnson was surprised to find a new set of challenges.

“I had gotten so used to sleeping on bamboo sticks, I couldn’t sleep in my own bed. It was too soft,” she said. “On the show, I had to share a handful of food with everyone each day. So when I got home, even when I wasn’t hungry, if there was food in the house, I would eat it.”

Until her Survivor appearance, Johnson’s professional career had run the gamut of health and death. She received an associate of arts degree in mortuary science from Southwest Mississippi Community College and Holmes Community College of Funeral Services, and at various times she had worked as a mortician/funeral home director, a fitness trainer and a waitress. 

When a good friend of hers, a dental assistant for Dr. Carla Metcalf of Jackson, left her job to enter the dental hygiene program, Johnson replaced her. Two years later, Johnson decided to enroll in dental hygiene, too.

"I’ve always been interested in the science field,” Johnson said. “I’ve always been competitive, too. I think that’s what attracted me to dental hygiene.”

Johnson said her immediate post-graduation plans are to practice dental hygiene in Baton Rouge, La. But the only Survivor contestant from Mississippi likes to keep her options open, particularly if they involve national television.

She recently received an offer to host a television show on the Discovery Channel, and while negotiations are at an early stage, she doesn’t exclude the possibility of moving to California.

“I do a lot of charity events with cast members from the Amazing Race, the Real World, Average Joe, and other reality shows,” she said. “I really don’t know what’s going to happen next.

“I’m taking it day to day.”

— Bruce Coleman (5-21-07)

2007-05-21 00:00:00 16941