10:35 AM EST on Tuesday, December 13, 2005

BY ANDY SMITH
Journal Television Writer

Rafe Judkins, the 2005 Brown University graduate who came in third on Sunday night's finale of the CBS reality show Survivor: Guatemala, said he has no regrets over how he played the game.

CBS photo

Rafe Judkins, a student from Brown, originally from Pittsburgh, was one of the members competing in Survivor: Guatemala.

Speaking by cell phone from Los Angeles, where he spent yesterday doing back-to-back interviews, Judkins said his Brown experience had a lot to do with becoming one of show's final three contestants.

Judkins, 22, graduated from Brown in May, and three weeks later was in the sweltering jungles of Guatemala, where he said the temperatures reached 125 degrees, the humidity was 95 percent and contestants could count on at least 100 mosquito bites a day.

Judkins said living at Brown taught him about living within a strong-willed, diverse community. More directly relevant to Survivor was Judkins' participation in Brown's Outdoor Leadership Training Program, which runs group wilderness trips.

"It was groups of eight to ten in the wilderness, and a lot of it was about managing the dynamics of the group, which was extremely helpful on Survivor," Judkins said. "And I felt very comfortable outdoors, which I think gave me an advantage over some of the other players."

Judkins, who said he's always been a Survivor fan, figured his love of competition and love for the outdoors made him a perfect contestant. Once in Guatemala, he said, he was always planning:

"From day one, I had a plan of who would be eliminated, in which order, so I would go to the final two," he said.

But Survivor's final two turned out to be Danni Boatwright, who won the $1 million first prize, and runner-up Stephenie LaGrossa.

First Judkins slipped up and lost an immunity challenge that would have guaranteed him a spot in the last twosome. Then he released one-time ally Boatwright from her promise to bring him to the final two with her.

Why, Rafe, why?

"She really felt it was a million-dollar decision for her. I'm not the kind of person who was going to strong-arm her into it. That's not who I am," Judkins said.

And Judkins thinks Boatwright would have broken her promise anyway, believing that LaGrossa was the weaker opponent in the end than Judkins.

"I told her to make the decision on the basis of our entire relationship, and if the relationship wasn't going to do it, a promise wouldn't do it," he said.

Like so many other reality show participants, Judkins said you really do forget about the cameras, particularly when battling the heat and hunger that are part of Survivor.

At least once, Judkins said, he ran into a cameraman because he didn't notice him.

Judkins majored in biology and anthropology at Brown. Now, he said, he plans to go to Los Angeles and try his hand at screenwriting.

Speaking of screenwriting, Judkins said he's become a big fan of Lost, the ABC drama that was partly inspired by Survivor. "This season I've felt much more connected to those characters," he said.