Caryn Markowitz Groedel[1] is a contestant from Survivor: Palau.
Initially a loyal member to the Koror Alliance, Caryn's undoing happened when she attempted to make an alliance against Ian Rosenberger which backfired due to her outburst at Tribal Council.
Profile[]
Retrieved from CBS.com
Born and raised in New York, Caryn Groedel attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. She went on to George Mason University School of Law in Arlington, Virginia, where she attended night school while working full-time as a legal secretary.
After receiving her law degree, Groedel briefly dabbled in insurance defense and real estate law before finding her niche in civil rights and employment discrimination law. She served for two years as the Executive Director for The Women's Law Fund, a non-profit organization, before opening her own practice.
Groedel enjoys running, tennis, biking, rollerblading, reading and painting. Her favorite activity of all is spending time with her daughters. She describes herself as ambitious, energetic and adventurous.
Caryn and her husband, Howard, currently reside in Solon, Ohio, with their three daughters, Hannah (15), Isabel (12) and Mia (6). Her birth date is August 13, 1958.[2]
Survivor[]
During the Schoolyard Pick on Day 2, Caryn was chosen by Coby Archa to be on the Koror tribe, much to the shock and disappointment of Coby's supposed ally, Angie Jakusz. In the following round, Caryn chose Willard Smith to be the final member of Koror, ultimately eliminating Jonathan Libby from the game, per the provisions of the Schoolyard Pick.
As a member of the Koror tribe, she and the other members enjoyed a dominant winning streak. However, Caryn was not vital in those challenges and would have been vulnerable had Koror lost. After Koror won the opening Immunity Challenge, the tribe was given the option to keep the original camp constructed by all 20 castaways, or to start fresh at a new camp. The tribe decided on the new camp, which ended up being infested with rats, much to Caryn's vocal dismay. Katie Gallagher grew fed up with this and got into a verbal confrontation with Caryn, who retaliated by calling out Katie's poor work ethic. Katie's work ethic was a recurring annoyance for both Caryn and Coby, though neither could do anything as Koror had yet to visit Tribal Council. Despite being outside of the majority Koror Alliance consisting of Katie, Gregg Carey, Ian Rosenberger, Jenn Lyon, and Tom Westman, Caryn would survive the only Tribal Council Koror attended, the Double Tribal Council on Day 12.
Due to Koror winning every single Immunity Challenge, there was no traditional merge, and the final Ulong member, Stephenie LaGrossa, joined Koror on Day 22. During the individual phase of the game, Caryn found herself in a much better position and was a part of most players' preferred alliance plans. On Day 30, she had the opportunity to join Jenn, Katie, and Stephenie in an all-female alliance, but since she trusted Tom, she stayed loyal to him and the plan fell through and Stephenie was voted out. Caryn would be a vital player in the next vote as Ian and Tom looked to blindside Gregg. With Katie flipping at the last minute to avoid a tie, the group succeeded in blindsiding Gregg. After being caught in the crosshairs during a few shifts in power, she became a target on Day 36. Caryn tried to convince Jenn and Katie to vote out Ian since he had been scheming as well, in addition to being a bigger threat in challenges. Pleading the tribe not to "shoot the messenger", they did exactly that by unanimously voting her out.
At the Final Tribal Council, Caryn's bond and respect for Tom led to her voting for him over frequent nemesis Katie, and he would eventually win by a 6-1 vote.
| Episode | Tribe Affiliation |
Challenge | Challenge Type | Sit-Out? | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | None | Race to Shore | Immunity | Lost | |
| Koror | Supply Dump | Reward/Immunity | No | Won | |
| 2 | The Gauntlet | Reward | No | Lost | |
| Heads Up | Immunity | No | Won | ||
| 3 | By Any Means Necessary | Reward | Yes | Lost | |
| Hot Pursuit | Immunity | No | Won | ||
| 4 | Build a Better Bathroom | Reward | No | Won | |
| Sumo at Sea | Immunity | No | Won | ||
| 5 | Sea Salvage | Reward | Yes | Won | |
| 6 | Shooting Gallery | Reward | No | Lost | |
| Build It Up, Break It Down | Immunity | Yes | Won | ||
| 7 | S.O.S. | Reward | No | Won | |
| Floating Puzzle | Immunity | Yes | Won | ||
| 8 | Cool Hand Balut | Reward | Yes | Won | |
| Under Current | Immunity | Yes | Won | ||
| 9 | Perch | Immunity | Lost | ||
| 10 | Water Tower | Reward | Won | ||
| Last Gasp | Immunity | Lost | |||
| 11 | Missing in Auction | ||||
| Kamikaze | Immunity | Lost | |||
| 12 | First Quencher Q&A | Reward | Lost | ||
| Second Chance | Immunity | Lost | |||
| 13 | Raft Rally | Reward | Lost | ||
| R.A.M. | Immunity | Lost | |||
| Voted Out, Day 36 | |||||
| Episode | Caryn's Votes |
Voted Against Caryn |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Koror Tribe Immune | |
| 2 | Koror Tribe Immune | |
| 3 | Koror Tribe Immune | |
| 4 | Koror Tribe Immune | |
| 5 | Willard | - |
| 6 | Koror Tribe Immune | |
| 7 | Koror Tribe Immune | |
| 8 | Koror Tribe Immune | |
| 9 | Coby | - |
| 10 | No Vote | |
| 11 | Stephenie | Stephenie |
| 12 | Gregg | Gregg, Jenn |
| 13 | Ian | Ian, Jenn, Katie, Tom |
| Voted Out, Day 36 | ||
| Voted for Sole Survivor |
Tom | |
Post-Survivor[]
- Caryn currently owns a boutique law firm in Cleveland, Ohio: Caryn Groedel & Associates Co., LPA.
Trivia[]
- Caryn was the oldest woman on Koror.
- In "I'll Show You How Threatening I Am", Caryn used tribemate Stephenie LaGrossa's old Ulong buff as a bikini bottom.
References[]
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