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Susie Smith, a Mexican American mother of one, has always
allowed others to dictate her life and she's ready for a change. Born into
a Mexican immigrant family of crop field workers, Susie and five of her
siblings began working alongside her parents at a young age and the other
three siblings were raised by Susie and her siblings. She has struggled
ever since, but has overcome many personal challenges.
Tired of working hard and being poor, Smith vows to devote the rest of her
life to her needs. After years of allowing others to influence her life,
she's decided to stop and dedicate this next chapter to herself, and
taking part in SURVIVOR was the first step and second was showing her son,
family, friends, and students that all it takes to change any part of your
life is to just TRY.
Smith has been married for 25 years. She currently works as an assistant
teacher and hairdresser. She teaches English to non-speaking English
children from kindergarten to 8th grade. When Susie is not teaching, she
enjoys working as a hairdresser where she has many wonderful clients. Her
hobbies include photography, watching movies, eating out, sewing and
gardening. She describes herself as encouraging, moody and talkative but
with a big potty mouth.
Bold and brassy with a huge zest for life, Smith believes SURVIVOR will
finally be the opportunity she's needed to turn things around. She has a
huge desire to win and won't let anyone get in her way.
Smith currently lives in Charles City, Iowa with her husband, Todd, son,
Trent, and two dogs. She is a graduate of the Marshalltown Cosmetology
School and a graduate of North Iowa Area Community College.
Her birth date is October 24, 1960.
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Susie: "I've been really selfish. This is the first time I've been away
from my son and husband, 7 weeks, that's extremely a long time. I am getting
a sense of being selfish. I am going to be fairly safe because I am going to
be with my tribe. I am going to be with 8 other people, that alone gives me
a little comfort. Now being out in Africa and not knowing what to expect
from animals, from what I understand, you see villages, you don't see
horses, hippos. They are there, but I am trying to keep it in
perspective. I
am not going out to chase them. I am in their element, in their habit.
I am
going to take the advice and be careful. I will be very fortunate to see a
horse or elephant in the distance. I will be very fortunate to see a silver
back gorilla. I'll try not to panic in case that happens. In real life,
I'm not a very good liar at all, but because in this game you don't know
these people very well. The only thing you know about them is eye contact
and I'm staring to feel a slight connection with some of them. They know
where I am at, they know this is a game, and if I have to take a machete and
stab it in your back - I don't want to do that. I know I will definitely have
to lie and I'm prepared for that. I love myself. I look back on all the bad
stuff in my life, and I tell myself, 'you know what Susie, you're ok, you're
pretty cool. I like myself, it was a journey to get there, but once I got
there, what's not to like about myself? I think one of the best qualities
about myself is that I am very giving and that is why it is very odd that I
am here and feel very selfish. I am neglecting my husband and my son, my
brothers and sisters, and all the victims of Iowa and Wisconsin. I just feel
horrible a little bit but then I am, 'wait a minute, I am here, I deserve
this.'"
Jeff Probst: ''Susie is a mom, and she likes to talk. That's
definitely her biggest obstacle to overcome, that she can't shut up. If I
went in and played this game and got teamed up with Susie, I would be wary
of her hanging in there with me, because she seems to go with the wind and
doesn't even seem like she's paying attention at times.''
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