Azzurra Degliuomini, Senior Staff Writer; Kierra Keegan and Caleb Litten, Staff Writers
Feb. 24, 2026, 9:00 a.m. ET
Among the veterans invited back for the landmark installment of «Survivor» Season 50 was FAMU-FSU College of Engineering professor Christian Hubicki. To many across the US, he’s known for his time on the Season 37 of “Survivor: David vs. Goliath.”
Hubicki started on the David Tribe and lasted until day 35 of 39 during the show’s original format. After his first appearance Season 37, Hubicki turned to teaching. In his eyes, Season 50 is another shot at the competition.
“I had always known I wanted another shot, you know?” Hubicki said in an interview with the FSView. “Certainly, once I got back, I was like ‘I need a little time’ … I was teaching my first class when the season was airing, so I was building a laboratory, I was building a teaching curriculum. I was doing all of the things you do as a new professor.”
For Hubicki, the fan-driven experiment reflects the same strategic complexity he studies in robotics, bipedal locomotion, optimal control, and biomechanical modeling.
«Dr. Christian Hubicki exemplifies everything we value at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering — brilliance, approachability, and an extraordinary ability to connect people with science,” Assistant Dean for Marketing & Communication for the College of Engineering Tisha Keller said to the FSView.
Hubicki runs the Optimal Robotics Lab, working alongside staff and students from the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, they create algorithms that seek the best behavior of robots for real-world tasks.
“I have a whole bunch of great graduate students doing cool stuff, so it’s been a great time,” Hubicki said. “I’m grateful for that time, but I was ready to go.”
The ‘Survivor’ archetypes
Hubicki broke down the cast of “Survivor 50” into four distinct archetypes: challenge, narrative, drama, and threat. Hubicki describes himself as a “narrative” player, someone less focused on brute physical dominance and more attuned to the story unfolding around him and his place within it.
“At our core, we’re cast on a reality show; we are characters. We are there because we cannot help but be what we are,” Hubicki said. “These people who are good at challenges, they’re not only physically fit, they’re incredibly physically competitive.”
Unlike traditional “challenge beasts,” Hubicki sees his strength in charismatic performance and perception. As a robotics professor, he is used to having to perform in order to hold the attention of his students — an experience he is also able to hone on TV.
“I [have to] make sure [my students are] awake. That’s just my instinct,” Hubicki said. “We are who we are and that comes with so many strengths, but also some drawbacks. So knowing that, I think it’s really important when you’re not just playing a game with random people off the street — we are selected to be television characters, and that’s just the reality of it.»
In Season 37, Hubicki leaned into high-level social maneuvering through narrative management, or constantly shaping his perception to control his threat level as a highly social and analytical player. One of the most openly strategic contestants to ever play, Hubicki approached the game the same way he approaches robotics: systematically.
“I can’t be anything but me,” Hubicki said. “I find comfort in analysis. Stressful situation? Go into analysis mode and suddenly, it’s a lot less stressful. You view it from the mechanics that it is. What you choose to analyze, though, is an important choice. That’s what you go back and try to focus on.”
During his maiden season, he set the record for the most elimination votes cast against a man in a single season, a testament to his strategic threat. This time, his focus has shifted.
Hubicki remains the same analytical, self-aware player he’s always been, but his focus has broadened from game mechanics to narrative positioning. The core identity has not shifted, only the framework for his strategy.
Hubicki advises FSU ‘Survivor’ Club through their own challenges
Hubicki also uses his experience and influence to inspire and support students as an advisor to the Survivor Club at FSU.
“[Hubicki] has shown up for several of the on-campus seasons we have done in the past and he is a big part of our club,” Survivor FSU President Ryan Berman said to the FSView. “There are several Survivor Clubs in Florida, but we are the only one that has a past (now two time) player as their faculty advisor.”
The Survivor Club at FSU operates out of Tallahassee and aims to combine social, physical, and intellectual strategy to recreate the thrill of the reality TV show.
The club divides players into tribes that compete in challenges for immunity and aim to avoid Tribal Council. Players are forced to balance alliances, connections, and strategy while surviving to the next day. Episodes and challenges are posted to the club’s YouTube channel.
Hubicki embraces his position and uses it to help influence the youth that looks up to him. He even gives advice to the young players in the community and across the nation. He challenges students to see themselves through the lens of someone who doesn’t know them.
«What is the first thing that they see? They see a guy who’s wearing a corduroy coat, who’s a professor, who talks in big words. They see a smart person,” Hubicki said. “Knowing what you bring to the table is incredibly important and you should shape your strategy around that.”
What will Season 50 of ‘Survivor’ be like?
The first 22 of the 24 returning castaways set to compete on the 50th season of “Survivor” were officially announced on May 28, 2025 during an appearance on “CBS Mornings.”
This milestone season of “Survivor” largely amounts to its title: it’s in the hands of the fans. This new installment provides the dedicated fanbase with ultimate control in the twists in store for castaways throughout the season.
Throughout the show’s airing of “Survivor 48” from February to May 2025 and in the lead-up to filming the 50th season, viewers were invited to shape “Survivor 50” game design through a series of online fan votes, with results revealed to audiences as the season progressed.
«Survivor» fans can look forward to the Season 50 premier on CBS Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. with next-day streaming on Paramount+.
Kierra Keegan, Caleb Litten, and Azzurra Degliuomini are Staff Writers for the FSView & Florida Flambeau, the student-run, independent online news service for the FSU community. Email our staff at contact@fsview.com.
