New 'Survivor' Season Features Burlington County Contestant

EVESHAM TOWNSHIP, NJ — Chelsea Walker is persistent, and always works hard to get what she wants. That persistence and determination will be on display beginning next week, when “Survivor: Island of the Idols” debuts on CBS on Sept. 25.

But behind the scenes, the South Jersey native’s determination to get on the show she’s watched for most of her life might be even more interesting.

“My eight-year-old self would be freaking out right now,” the 26-year-old Marlton native said. “ … I’ve been watching the show since Season 1. One of my family traditions is that we would gather around, watch it together, we’d have pools for who we thought would win. It’s that one show I continued to watch my whole life.”

But Walker didn’t want to just watch it: she wanted to win it. But to win it, you’ve got to be in it. For nearly six years, Walker has been trying out to get on the show. She and her father even teamed up to try out for “Survivor: Blood vs. Water” in 2013.

“I was close to being on multiple times,” Walker said. “The fact that I was not getting on didn’t sit well with me. I’m used to getting what I want because I work really hard.”

That shows in the fact that she was a varsity starter for the Cherokee High School soccer team - and had the chance to train alongside U.S. Women’s National Team legend Carli Lloyd. She also excelled at lacrosse.

After graduating from Cherokee in 2010, Walker was accepted to — and ultimately graduated from — the University of Maryland. She then moved to Los Angeles, where she got a job with E! and has had the chance to interview some big name celebrities, including Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart.

Walker is now a Digital Content Creator for the celebrity website IMDB, a site on which she is currently listed.

“Survivor” was always the one thing that eluded her. She made a new tape each time she applied, and she always came close, but she always found herself on the outside looking in. She even considered throwing in the towel. She’s not one to give up, though.

“This year, I was very emotional,” Walker said of her audition tape. “I was crying. It’s hard to be told no time and time again when I know I have what it takes.”

The producers saw her tenacity. When Walker was covering this year’s Sundance Film Festival, she got the fateful call. She would finally get the chance to show she has what it takes on her all-time favorite show.

“That was one of the happiest days of my life,” Walker said. “I was at SunDance when I got the call, and I started screaming on the phone with the casting person.”

Walker then had to return to work and wasn’t able to tell anyone. She was able to tell her parents. Her father Mark, a dentist in Moorestown, helped her get ready. She describes him as her “biggest fan.”

Of course, Walker had been getting ready on her own, even before she found out she was going to be one of 23 contestants competing to survive.

“I did yoga, I was running a lot, I was studying old seasons in an all-out prep,” Walker said. “I even put on 10 pounds because you lose a lot of weight out there.”

Walker wasn’t able to talk about what happened during the show or the outcome. “Survivor: Island of the Idols” debuts on CBS on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 8 p.m. Viewers can also follow Walker’s progress all season long on her Instagram and Twitter accounts.

To see the roster of this year’s contestants, visit cbs.com. Click on Walker’s picture to see her full profile.

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