Brown student and ‘Survivor' contestant Eva Erickson says RFK Jr. is wrong about autism: ‘He can kick rocks'

Boston Globe

5 hours ago

Erickson said, 'He can kick rocks. That is absolutely wrong on so many fronts, and I think my life is just one of the many, many examples of how wrong he is about
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Erickson also delivered that message in an Instagram post that showed her graduating from college, playing hockey, competing on 'Survivor,' and dating.
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'The number one biggest thing that I can say about autism is: There's not something wrong with you,' Erickson said on the podcast. 'There's so many misconceptions being thrown around these days about what autism is, what it means for a person in their life, and I am very proud to have gotten to go on national television and show what my life looks like as someone who's on the autism spectrum.'
At one point in 'Survivor' Season 48, which came out earlier this year, Erickson becomes frustrated while practicing for a fire-starting competition. She explained that she hadn't succeeded in some other competitions and she ended up having the kind of 'episode' that can come with autism.
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'My head was spiraling,' Erickson said. 'I got overstimulated and I was out of control, and it was much worse than what they showed on the show.'
She said she was 'screaming and scratching myself, stimming (repetitive behaviors) on the ground.' And she did not calm down right away when another contestant, Joe Hunter, came to help her.
But Erickson said, 'I kind of wished that more had been shown so other people who have autism could see that that was my lowest point in the game and it was the hardest.'
She said she had to 'battle through' that mindset, and she ended up beating Kamilla Karthigesu in the fire-starting challenge, propelling her into the final three.
'I'm very proud that I was able to get through that and then ultimately build the fire,' Erickson said.
She said she views autism as her 'biggest strength and my greatest weakness.' One on hand, she can become overwhelmed at times. But, she said, 'It gives me so many great things in my life, like the aptitude for math.'
Erickson is now pursuing a PhD in engineering and fluid and thermal science at Brown.
She said her engineering background helped her compete in puzzle challenges on 'Survivor.' But she said she tried to hide
a 'more intellectual side' during the competition, and would sometimes add numbers incorrectly on purpose.
'I wanted people to underestimate me because I do come in being a very physical threat,' Erickson said. 'I can't hide that. I can't hide my muscles.'
A Minnesota native, she became the first and only woman to play on the men's ice hockey club team as an undergraduate at Georgia Tech, and she is now the captain of the men's club team at Brown.
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Eva Erickson is captain of the men's club hockey team at Brown University.
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Erickson only revealed her academic credentials at the final 'tribal council.' In a compelling final speech, she said, 'We've been saying this season that 48 is an unprecedented season,' and 'You have never seen a player like me.'
The 'Survivor' competition took place on an island in Fiji, and Erickson said the hardest part of being on the island was the crabs.
'The crabs were attacking me in my sleep,' she said. 'Only me. Nobody else had problems with the crabs. Other people were freaked out by the bugs and stuff. But I'm fine with bugs. I worked with centipedes as an undergrad, but I would get these crabs biting me in my sleep and it was kind of spooky.'
On the podcast, she said there are similarities between competing on 'Survivor' and pursuing a PhD — aside from a lack of sleep.
Eva Erickson is pursuing a doctoral degree in engineering and fluid and thermal science at Brown University.
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'Every day on 'Survivor,' it's about you go do a challenge and there's the actual competitive challenges as well as the challenge of not sleeping, of not eating,' she said. 'With my PhD, it's the same thing. It's constantly challenges. I do an experiment, it doesn't work, something breaks — OK, what am I going to change?'
Perseverance is the key in both situations, she said.
Erickson has two years to go before she gets her PhD. She said she would like to work in the sports equipment industry after graduation. She has a passion for hockey and has been studying vibrations and physics. So, she said, 'It'd be really cool to work on vibration suppression in sports equipment.'
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Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at