After three weeks of fierce heat and competition, Rachel Bennett '08 outlasted nine other local college students to win $10,000 in the “Last Student Standing Competition” sponsored by radio station WFLY (Fly 92).
“The last 36 hours were definitely the toughest. The hosts had us stand, blindfolded, and we couldn't talk,” Bennett said. “I really haven't had a chance to sleep in the last five days.”
“Rachel really deserved to win,” said fellow contestant Dan “The Man,” who bowed out of the competition just before 6 p.m. Thursday, leaving Bennett alone on the bus parked outside Crossgates Mall in Guilderland.
The 20-year-old Bennett, who lives in Schenectady, followed last summer's contest and applied to be a contestant this year. When she learned she had been selected, she was both determined to win the grand prize and excited to have a chance to be on a regional reality show.
“I always wanted to be on the ‘Real World,'” Bennett said before she boarded the bus July 21. “This is probably as close as I'll ever get.”
Contestants were stuck on the bus without air-conditioning for 24 hours a day, eating the same foods at every meal. If they lost challenges, the game's hosts could blindfold contestants, handcuff them together or take away basic privileges like talking. Winning a challenge meant better food or a pass to take a shower.
A psychology major and member of Union's cross country and track teams, Bennett got by with just a few basic items, including a blanket, a pillow, a toothbrush and toothpaste.
Bennett served as a tour guide in the Admissions office at Union earlier this summer, but had to leave her job to compete in the contest. She will use her winnings to help pay for her fall term, which she will spend abroad in Japan.
“It was nice that I got off the bus a winner in time to go to Japan as I'll be leaving Aug. 27,” said Bennett. “I was cutting it close.”