SURVIVOR TO VISIT LIFESKILLS
by Eric Robinette Journal Staff Writer
Survivor s Lillian Morris will meet with a new and different kind of tribe next week a group of students at LifeSkills charter school in Middletown.
The Loveland resident famed for her dedication to the Boy Scouts and her second-place finish on Survivor: Pearl Islands last year, will speak with students at the school at 10 a.m. Feb. 26.
She s going to give an inspirational talk about how hard it was to get on the show and about her time on the island, said Hector Santiago, a vocational specialist at Life Skills.
It took more than a little luck for Santiago to get Morris to appear. Last week he was shopping at the Fairfield Commons Mall in Beavercreek. He noticed a picture of an employee with Morris and asked if the employee knew her.
That s my mom, replied Morris son, Clayton.
Does she like to give inspirational talks to high school students? Santiago asked?
She sure does, Clayton replied, explaining that she had spoken at some Cincinnati-area schools.
Morris will speak to the first two sessions of classes, a total of about 400 students, next week, Santiago said.
Morris made the final two on the seventh season of the hit reality TV show, but lost the final vote to Sandra Diaz-Twine, a Puerto Rican from Connecticut
Santiago has a little in common with Morris. I m a Puerto Rican from Connecticut as well, so I didn t mind Morris runner-up finish, he said.
Morris appearance at LifeSkills is a plus for Santiago in more ways than one. He s an avowed Survivor fan.
My wife got me addicted, so I have to watch it now, he said.
When asked who his favorite is to win the current Survivor: All Stars, Santiago said, That s going to be the toughest call.
Published 02.19.04
Originally
published in the Middletown Journal.
(c) 2004 Middletown Journal. Used with permission.