Jessica Lewis

Jessica Blain-Lewis is a contestant from .
Though she was initially a part of the Takali majority alliance, Jessica's participation in an early blindside of Paul Wachter caused her own allies to identify her as a threat. After being saved by David Wright playing a Hidden Immunity Idol on her and a conveniently timed tribe switch, Jessica managed to reach the merge and secure herself in the new majority alliance. Her reluctance to flip on her alliance contributed to a deadlocked vote between Zeke Smith and Hannah Shapiro, following which Jessica became the third person in the history of to be eliminated via the rock draw tiebreaker. Jessica is also distinguished as the first contestant to find a Legacy Advantage.
==Profile==
Retrieved from CBS.com
Name: Jessica Lewis
Age: 37
Current residence: Voorheesville, NY
Occupation: Assistant district attorney
Tribe designation: (Gen-X)
Three words to describe you: Unique, unconventional, and intriguing.
Hobbies: Painting, baking, and photography.
Pet peeves: People who blame others for their own misery.
What does it mean to be a Gen-Xer? My parents were farmers and they worked harder than anyone I have ever known. There were no vacations, days off, or breaks. No matter the weather, their health, or lack of money, they never gave up. They never stopped. That lesson has never left me. No one will live my life for me. No one is going to give me a break. If I want something, I have to get up and do it, regardless of how I may feel or how hard it may be. My life was decided by no one but myself. I saw the struggle my parents endured and I made a promise to myself to never stop trying to achieve any goal I set out to achieve. Nothing I have was handed to me. I had to earn it and I continue to do so every day.
Personal claim to fame: Getting into law school, making it through, passing the bar and excelling as a prosecutor. I did all of this while also getting married and starting a family. Within a six-year time span, I was married, graduated undergrad, started law school, had my first child, passed the bar, was hired as a prosecutor, and had my second child. I recently had a trial in which the jury gave me a round of applause when it was completed. The presiding judge later told me he had never seen a prosecutor get a round of applause—and he has been on the bench for over 20 years. That moment was confirmation that the lack of sleep, long hours, hard work, and mental strain were all truly worth enduring.
Inspiration in life: My dad. He was born to be a farm hand and his upbringing was extremely difficult. He is truly dedicated to his family and has a spirit and will that's indescribable.
If you could have three things on the island, what would they be and why? Lip balm because it travels everywhere with me. Champagne and salt and vinegar chips, which I am lumping into one item because they always go together. Pictures of my family for inspiration and a reminder of what truly matters.
Survivor contestant you're most like: Cirie Fields (, , ). Her early life struggles are very similar to my own. This caused both of us to develop a resilient personality, the ability to push ourselves, and never give up. This, along with our strong desire to help our families, gave us what many people lack—drive.
Reason for being on Survivor: My life is like that set of stairs in the movie Labyrinth: the directions don't make sense nor does the order, but I always manage to find my way through and get where I want to go. For me, those stairs never stop. My motivation comes from within and I will never be done or satisfied.
Why do you think you'll "survive" Survivor? My job requires me to be a great storyteller and I have the burden to prove my case to a jury, which I welcome every time. That burden comes with a significant amount of responsibility and pressure. I must convince a jury of 12 people that the evidence presented and the case I put forth proves the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt. No matter the situation or circumstances, I must maintain my composure, all the while focusing on obtaining the right result. That is the essence of Survivor.http://web.archive.org/web/20230128193548/https://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/cast/215480/
==Survivor==
Jessica was a part of the Takali tribe. During the scramble, Jessica found an envelope. At camp, she learned that she had found a Legacy Advantage, which would give her an unspecified advantage in the game on Day 36; if she were voted out before then, she would privately will it to someone else following her elimination. When Takali lost the first Immunity Challenge, she became a part of the Takali Alliance, and aided the alliance in voting out Rachel Ako. When Takali lost immunity on Day 10, the alliance planned to vote out CeCe Taylor. However, when alliance member Paul Wachter told her that he would align with men over women, Jessica alerted female alliance members Sunday Burquest and Lucy Huang, and at Tribal Council, they sided with the minority alliance of David Wright, Ken McNickle and CeCe and blindsided Paul. However, Jessica was blamed for this move, so she was kicked out of the alliance and made the target, but she was unaware of this. Takali lost immunity again. At camp, Ken told Jessica that Lucy was targeting her, but she did not believe him, and told Lucy. At Tribal Council, she voted for CeCe, David played his Hidden Immunity Idol on her, and David's and CeCe's votes sent Lucy out of the game. After Tribal Council, Jessica made amends with Ken and promised to give him the advantage if she was voted out.
The next day a Tribe Switch occurred. Jessica and Ken remained on Takali and were joined by Vanua members Figgy Figueroa, Taylor Stocker, and Adam Klein. It appeared Jessica and Ken were in the minority. When Takali lost immunity, Adam was caught in the middle, but he ended up siding with Jessica and Ken thus blindsiding Figgy.
Jessica reached the merge. She along with David's alliance, the Vanua outsider alliance and her old alliance worked together for the first two votes after the merge. However, on Day 30, her original alliance member Chris Hammons plotted for her elimination. After losing the Reward Challenge, David talked to her and Ken about blindsiding Chris. At Tribal Council, Jessica received four votes, but Chris was successfully blindsided. She then became a part of David's Vinaka Alliance. At the next Tribal Council, she, along with her allies, voted for Zeke Smith, but the vote ended in a 5-5 tie between Zeke and her new alliance member Hannah Shapiro. She considered switching her vote to Hannah because she did not want to participate in the rock drawing tiebreaker, but she ended up sticking with her alliance and voting for Zeke in the revote, and the vote ended in a 4-4 tie between Zeke and Hannah. Nobody would change their votes so the rock drawing tiebreaker took place. Jessica unfortunately picked the wrong rock and was eliminated, with some of her tribemates blaming David for the rock drawing. She finished 10th. She willed her legacy advantage to Ken.
At the Final Tribal Council, Jessica castigated Ken for preaching honor and loyalty, but only to vote out his number one ally David. She voted for Adam to win which he did in a unanimous 10-0-0 vote.
<tabber>Challenge History=
Episode 	TribeAffiliation 	Challenge 	Challenge Type 	Sit-Out?	Result
1 	rowspan=10 	Got to Choose 	Reward/Immunity	No 	
2 	The Ocean 	Reward/Immunity 	No 	 	
3 	Going Coconuts 	Reward/Immunity 	No 	 	
4 	Water Slaughter 	Reward 	No 	 	
4 	Angry Chair 	Immunity 	No 	 	
5 	Holy Diver 	Immunity 	No 	 	
6 	Blind Faith 	Reward 	Yes 	 	
6 	It's in the Bag 	Immunity 	No 	 	
7 	Matt Finish 	Reward 	No 	 	
7 	Bail Out 	Immunity 	No 	 	
colspan="6"	 	 	 	 	
8 	rowspan=7 	Fools in the Rain	Immunity 	 	
9 	All Mixed Up 	Reward 	 	 	
9 	Bo Diddley 	Immunity 	No 	 	
10 	Ferryman 	Reward 	No 	 	
10 	With a 10-ft. Pole	Immunity 	 	 	
10 	Slither Me Timbers	Reward 	No 	 	
10 	Rusty Gates 	Immunity 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	
|-|Voting History=
Episode 	Jessica'sVotes	Voted AgainstJessica
1 	 	
2 	 	
3 	 	
4 	 	
5 	 	
6 	 	
7 	 	
8 	 	
9 	 	
10 	 	
10 	 	
 	 	
Voted forSole Survivor	colspan="2" 	
 In , David used a Hidden Immunity Idol on Jessica, negating 5 votes against her. In , the vote ended with a 5-5 tie between Hannah and Zeke, forcing a revote. Nobody changed their vote on the revote, forcing a rock-drawing tiebreaker. Jessica drew the odd-colored rock, eliminating her from the game.</tabber>
==Post-Survivor==
* On April 5, 2017, Jessica, along with Michael Snow, appeared on an episode of Pen Fan Forum hosted by Andrea Boehlke to discuss the sixth episode of .https://twitter.com/EW/status/849313101484888065 and she also appeared on episode after the 13th episode of hosted by Andrea and with fellow Gen-X'er Bret LaBelle on December 13, 2017.
* Since , Jessica has been the co-host for the Why ___ Lost podcast alongside David Bloomberg.
* Jessica, along with 6 other castaways from her season, podcasted with the Survivor Specialists: Phil and Will.
==Trivia==
* Jessica is the first contestant to find a Legacy Advantage.
* Jessica is the third person to be eliminated via a rock draw, following Paschal English and Katie Collins.
* Jessica lost 13 lbs. during her time on .https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arYK23fhqW0
==References==
Category:Contestants
Category:Female Contestants
Category:Millennials vs. Gen X Contestants
Category:Millennials vs. Gen X Jury Members
Category:Takali Tribe
Category:Vinaka Tribe
Category:10th Place
Category:Survivor (U.S.)
Category:Survivor (U.S.) Contestants
Category:Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X
Category:1979 births
Category:Living people