S41 Liana Wallace

[Whimsy]

CBS Bio

Name: Liana Wallace
Age: 20
Hometown: Evanston, IL
Current Residence: Washington, DC
Occupation: College Student

Hobbies: Dancing, running, writing poetry

3 Words to Describe You: Adventurous, loving, outspoken

Pet Peeves: I hate when people chew with their mouth open.

What is the accomplishment you are most proud of? I am most proud of being invited to
perform my spoken word for Congressman John Lewis during a fundraiser for a non-profit
organization in my community.

What is something we would never know from looking at you? Looking at me you would
never know that I spent a portion of my childhood in Tokyo and Singapore.

Who is your hero and why? My hero is Misty Copeland, the first female African-American
dancer to be promoted to a principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre. I see Misty
Copeland as a hero because she faced incredible odds growing up in terms of her home life, but
she also stayed committed to her craft and her love of ballet to get where she is today. In staying
committed mentally and emotionally to the idea that she could, in fact, be a professional ballet
dancer even though she didn't fit the archetype of a white ballerina, she broke barriers for future
Black ballet dancers who had dreams that always seemed unattainable.

Which past Survivor will you play the game most like? I would hope to play the game most
like Tony Vlachos, except not have other people know that. Tony was a player that minimized
risks to the best of his ability. He would always read the social scene and crunch numbers, but if
he felt like his game was on the line, he would find some way to ensure his safety, whether it
was finding an idol or slickly attempting to overhear other players' conversations. Although I
really hated when Tony did that as a viewer, I think his type of game play is one that I would try
to emulate, but in a way that had more authentic relationships. In all honesty, I would hope to be
a type of hybrid between Tony and Elaine. I would have Tony's game play skills and Elaine's
people skills.

Why do you believe you can win Survivor? I believe I can be the final Survivor because too
often, women of color are overlooked and undervalued. Whether that's in my business classes
dominated by white men who feel entitled to the space they take up or in future workplaces, it is
women of color who have nurtured and cared for others throughout history. If there was ever a
person who was strong enough mentally, physically and emotionally to take on a game full of
odds – a woman of color, a woman like me and the women I come from would be the one to do
it.