Alumni Moonshiner online

Willsboro, NY                                         December 19, 2011                                           since 1905

reprinted in part from the Press-Republican

WILLSBORO, December 19 — Former Pok-O-MacCready camper, Willsboro star soccer player, valedictorian, prom princess and medical student Sophie Clarke did more than survive in Sunday's "Survivor: South Pacific" climax — she won the one million dollar top prize.

Clarke took part in the television series, spending one month in the South Pacific earlier in 2011.  However, the results were not revealed, and she was sworn to secrecy regarding her performance until the series concluded its network airing last night.

Willsboro native Clarke was one of six competitors who made it to the CBS reality show's season finale. As the show narrowed to three, she hung onto a prime spot, defeating Oscar "Ozzy" Lusth in a puzzle challenge. In high-pressure final voting she defeated Benjamin "Coach" Wade and Albert Destrade.

Clarke and her sisters were campers at MacCready during the late 1990’s-early 2000’s.  Her hobbies of cooking, Scrabble and reading seemed a far cry from what the 22-year-old had endured during the six weeks of physical and emotional challenges on a Pacific Island.

Prior to the show, Clarke listed as her pet peeves, "Smart women who pretend to be dumb, particularly if they wear a lot of eye makeup, and people who walk slowly in cold weather." Most likely she has added a few more after her experience.

Purposeful, resilient and shrewd are three words Clarke uses to describe herself. These traits served her well on the sometimes cutthroat reality show.

On the show's website, Clarke listed her primary reason for being on "Survivor" as: "To win money! I have been bragging to friends for way too long about how easy 'Survivor' is and how good I would be. I would like to have the freedom in med. school to choose my specialty based on passion and not money and the potential to more quickly pay my debts."

In her "Survivor" bio, Sophie listed Albert Schweitzer as her inspiration in life. "He came from a well-off family and yet chose something much less grand with his life than he could have. True humanitarian. True passion. True dedication."

Her altruistic nature was displayed when she spent the last half of her senior year of high school in Kenya. She was assigned to teach math, biology and French to ninth- through 12th-graders at the local school.  The students didn't have books, but with Sophie's help they made a large map of the world. She also started peer groups, taught AIDS awareness and took the 11th- and 12th-graders for HIV testing.

Local support

From the beginning of the current "Survivor" series, Johnny's Family Smoke House and Sports Bar in Willsboro has dedicated Wednesday nights to Clarke with tropical-theme decorations and menu offerings.  "We have been supporting her to the very end," co-manager Jody Joslin said. "It's the local spirit that can be found in small towns. Things like this are a source of spirit and able to bring people together."

"It's gotten exciting," said Tricia Sheehan, Johnny's co-owner. "Everyone cheers her on. I went to high school with Sophie and played on the soccer team with her. She's a great well-rounded individual. We are very proud of her in this town. We wouldn't expect anything less from her than to be a winner."

As for doing another reality show, Clarke states, "If the opportunity presented itself, maybe.. I went on the show because I was a fan, not because I thought it would change my life - but it did. So I'm much less judgmental of reality TV now.

"But I wouldn't do 'The Bachelor' anytime soon!"
 

Courtesy- Joyce Chen, NY Daily News; Alvin Reiner, Press-Republican