Ballagh's speech is recognizable to all fans of the reality TV competition show "Survivor." In the show, contestants participate in challenges and weather the wilderness in hopes of being the sole survivor and winner of the $1 million prize. Voting each other out along the way, the game requires social strategy. 

Here at MSU, students have created their own version of the game — something that is close to an obsession for many members.

This is true for Ballagh, who is a senior majoring in theater and minoring in broadcast journalism. When she isn’t in theater rehearsals from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, she’s hosting and coordinating Survivor MSU. 

“I think I am a little bit of a jack of all trades,” Ballagh said. “I do a little bit of everything and I've always been that way. I feel like hosting is kind of tailor made for me. When I was little, I wanted to be a home shopping host, like, I wanted to sell things on TV.”

Ballagh had no idea there was an MSU club dedicated to recreating and playing "Survivor" until the club followed her on Instagram her sophomore year. It was that same night in December that she decided to apply.  

Since then, Ballagh competed in season two, became an executive producer for season three and has now hosted the past two seasons.

“I absolutely love hosting; it's so much fun,” Ballagh said. “There's been other years where I've been involved as an executive or as a player, but hosting is by far my favorite thing I get to do.”

At last night's tribal council, Ballagh read out the votes that resulted in the first elimination of Survivor MSU's fifth season. And then, like the host in the TV version, she snuffed out their torch. 

These recreations are not unique to MSU. In fact, university students around the country participate in their own reproductions of the show, including at the University of Michigan, Maryland and Ohio. 

Survivor MSU also allows Liz Bray to practice her major in hospitality as she serves as the clubs engagement director. Bray uses the club to practice for a future in event planning as she coordinates parties, helps with fundraisers, plan future themes and designs buffs. 

Bray was previously a contestant on season three during her sophomore year. Bray never won a challenge, she never found an idol and she was the target vote for five tribal councils. Although receiving over 15 votes against her throughout the season, she managed to escape each vote.

That was until the final tribal council where she received nearly every single vote. Except this time, the jury was voting for the winner.  

In the beginning of the game, she took advantage of her extroverted personality to make alliances and gain trust with the other contestants. She soon realized that having too many relationships put a target on her back, making her a threat in the game. 

“I always thought that I was going home, and so did everyone else,” Bray said. “At some points, I just tried to make my peace with it because I was so positive that I wasn’t going to make it to the end. It wasn’t until the final six, when I voted off my closest ally, when I thought ‘okay, maybe I can pull this off.’”

Although the campus version of this game doesn’t involve starving on an island and building their own shelters, Bray still found the game to be quite challenging. 

“When the final votes were read and I won, I cried and called my mom,” Bray said. “It took so much out of me, even my grades went down. I was still very glad that I did it, and the friendships I made are probably the thing I valued most about this experience.” 

Winning Survivor MSU doesn’t count for nothing. Each contestant has to contribute $50, which goes to supplies and the $500 cash prize awarded to the winner.

Hospitality sophomore Hayden Hamel hopes to taste this victory as he is competing in the current season of the game. Hamel wanted to apply to play in Survivor MSU since before even attending MSU and has watched "Survivor" with his family since he was 12 years old.

“Wednesday nights were always my favorite night, just because I got to watch 'Survivor,'" Hamel said. “I would watch it with my family every week. It was almost religious in a way.”

Since the game has started, Hamel has scoured MSU’s campus in search of the hidden immunity idol. He expects to rely on his social game to get him to the end.

As it is Hamel’s sophomore year at MSU, he’s already noticing the impact the club has made on his overall college experience.

“It’s definitely made me busier, I’ve been hanging out with more people,” Hamel Said. “I’ve noticed that I’ve been more interactive. I also feel like I am getting to know the campus more as I’ve been searching for idols.”

Ballagh, too, has reflected on what the club has added to her college experience as she graduates this spring.

“I have an entire friend group of college 'Survivor' executives and hosts from all around the country that I never would have met had I not done this,” Ballagh said. “It’s such a diverse and tight knit group of people who are all weird and brave enough to go and play college 'Survivor.'"

Ballagh can’t imagine a future where she isn’t involved in Survivor MSU. So she plans to find or create another community where she can get her fix after she graduates. She sees this experience influencing her future career goals. 

“It's going to be so weird to not be involved in 'Survivor,'” Ballagh said. “If possible, my two dream jobs would be directing on Broadway and being an executive producer of a CBS reality show. I'm trying to get as much experience as possible to get my foot in the door.”