As Jack Nichting walked toward my jungle office, beaming from ear to ear, one thought flashed through my mind: “This guy has great Joey Amazing cosplay.” With his slim athletic build and shoulder-length curly hair, the 23-year-old grad student was a dead ringer for the three-time player once nicknamed Survivor MacGyver. The show seemed to think so as well, as Jack was nearly on Edge of Extinction. Now that he’s got an official spot on season 39, he’s ready to climb over his competitors—and hopefully, a coconut tree too—on his way to the million-dollar prize.

Read on for my interview with Jack, and make sure to check in with Parade.com every day for interviews with this season’s contestants and other on-set tidbits. Survivor: Island of the Idols premieres on September 25 with a special 90-minute premiere on CBS.

Related: Meet the Full Cast of Survivor Season 39

Tell me about yourself.

I’m currently in grad school at James Madison University. I’m getting my Master’s in Public Administration, believe it or not. Nothing to do with what I really love, but a Master’s degree nonetheless.

What are you trying to pursue once you graduate?

I’m not sure. I’m having this battle of whether I want a real job or if I don’t want to work. It’s the “have to” that kills me. Maybe I would want to work, but the fact that my mentors are saying I have to is what I struggle with.

So what drove you to grad school?

I wasn’t sure what I was going to do after graduating from college. My mom said, “You should go to grad school,” and I replied, “Well, sure.” I found a cool program about an hour away, and I get to mentor kids when I’m there. I love working with youth. So I can get a Master’s and postpone the real world as much as possible. I graduate the day after I get back, but I need to finish my classes over the summer.

Well hopefully you’ll be sporting a big beard by the time you walk across the graduation stage.

(Laughs.) Dude, I know! The beard’s gonna have to go. I shaved before I came here because my mom hates it. And I can’t even grow a beard; only a little shadow shows up after five days. I was like, “Mom, come on!”

What inspired you to come onto Survivor?

I grew up watching the show. My dad was in the military, so we traveled and moved around a lot. But Survivor was a constant. We’d always come home and watch the show; it was a great familial bond. When I went to Virginia and moved to college, I stopped watching. I got to grad school and had an epiphany. I remember it very vividly. I was laying in my bed and thought, “I’m not very happy right now. What do I want?” I made a Word document called “Jack’s Wants,” and it had Survivor on it. That December, my girlfriend and I made an audition video, and I got a phone call a month later. I got pretty far in the casting process for season 38 and didn’t get it. Then I got a call this past November saying, “We want to fly you back out for more interviews.” And here I am.

So what’s on Jack’s list of Survivor wants?

The first thing–and it’s pretty lame–is that I want to climb a coconut tree and get a coconut. I feel like it’s something that doesn’t happen anymore. Ozzy pioneered it, and since then I can’t remember anyone else doing it. There are no coconut trees in Virginia so I couldn’t practice, but I did practice rock climbing. My school has a rock climbing gym, so I started to get my form, grip strength, and feet strength up. Your boy’s gonna climb a coconut tree. I’m also really excited to go spearfishing. I hope I get the chance. Not only will this change my life for literally a million reasons, but who doesn’t want to freaking live on an island?

Your list seems to include a lot of camp life items.

That’s one thing I’m probably most excited about. I don’t want to say I’m not excited for the game. I’m so freaking stoked to be here. I’m most excited to be sleeping in the rain in this makeshift shelter, cuddled up with a bunch of people trying to stay warm when it’s pouring down rain. I love that. I learned how to make fire with flint, which I’m stoked about. I had a machete, and I gashed my hand open. The survival things are what I’m most excited about. At the same time, Jeff talks about how everyone is so selfish, but rely on everyone else. I’m so excited to explore that. There’s no other opportunity in life where you get to experience that.

Related: Jeff Probst Picks His Top 10 Survivor Winners of All Time

What do you think people will perceive you as?

That’s something I’ve definitely battled with. I have long hair, so I’m concerned about people seeing me as “Little Joe.” But I think something I have that Joe doesn’t is I’m a very genuine person. I love talking to people. Every day in my life, I mentor kids and work with a scholarship program. A lot of what I do is for other people, but my approach isn’t going to be the provider. I’ve also battled with whether I want to be a challenge beast or not. I feel like I really could be, but do I want to be that kind of person? I don’t want to be perceived as a person who’s going to be an athletic provider.

I want to be someone people want to talk to get rid of their worries. Everyone’s going to have a hard time, so I want to be that person people go to not for food, but an emotional getaway. I think a couple of people out there are going to perceive me as this surfer, “long hair, don’t care” kind of guy. That can be great, but I also want them to like me. I don’t want them to think they could never be friends with this 23-year-old kid. I can be very mature and relate on a lot of life experiences. It will help me to get over that immature perception and try to be a mature, nurturing character. It’s about overcoming that “long hair, beachy dude.”

You spoke about your mom before. What’s your relationship like?

My mom and I are super, super close. I’m 100% a mama’s boy. In my audition video, she combed my hair. I started growing my hair out a few years ago and didn’t realize you had to comb it. And I got massive knots. So I would just not comb my hair for a few months, come home, and she’d comb it out. It was the most painful thing in the world. Now I try to comb my hair as frequently as possible. And my sister gave me a brush a week ago, which is never painful compared to the comb.

My mom currently works abroad, so I don’t see her often. But she’s a beast. When I told her I was getting called back for Survivor, I was worried that in talking about her, they’d try to get her on the show instead of me. She’s such a cool person. I don’t want to say I’m dependent on my mom because I can be a very independent person. But I rely on my mom for a lot. She’s a huge rock, and we’re very, very close. It’s only me, her, and my sister. My dad passed away when I was a senior in high school. So it’s been the three of us for a while.

What was the experience like to lose your father?

It was hard. When he passed, we became more reliant on ourselves. We got way closer; the three of us are absolutely inseparable. My life is completely different from it, but it’s made me view life as making the most of it. As opposed to picking what’s secure, pick what makes you happy. That was honestly another big motivator to apply.

What do you desire in an alliance partner?

I want one person I’m very, very close to. We don’t seem very close on the outside, but we work together. I want an unconventional partnership, someone you wouldn’t expect me to be with. Like an older military-looking dude you wouldn’t expect me to be best buddies with. I feel very strongly about having one person you trust really, really well.

What line will you not cross morally in the game?

That’s another thing I struggle with. I want to be very real to people about this game. I want to say, “I want to win this game; you want to win this game. I’m going to do things that are in my best interest. A way for us to get closer to that is to work together. At one point, there may be a change, and we have to turn on each other. But for right now in the foreseeable future, it’s best for us to work together.” It’s very direct and straightforward. But at the same time, I could see them going to confessional and saying, “Jack just said he wants to be my partner and then straight-up told me he’s going to turn on me at some point.” So it could slap me in the face. But truthfulness right away is the best way to do it.

How much are you going to incorporate honesty into your game?

It’s a game. If I get voted out, I will not hold a grudge. Nineteen people this season are going to lose; it’s a fact. I’ll be honest as I need to be. But I want to win, and I’ll do what I have to do to win. Lying isn’t an issue. I practiced different scenarios with people at home to see how certain lies sound. It’s like trying out pick-up lines. I told some people I was going to do The Amazing Race; I told some people I was going to work for an NGO in Africa. I told the kids I mentor I was cast as a lead in a movie. I tried to see if my lying was working well, and I’m pretty confident every person I told absolutely believes what I said. And that’s phenomenal.

Are there any facets from your mentoring that you’re going to bring into the game?

Absolutely. I care about people. I love listening to people and hearing their stories. I know everyone’s here for a reason and has a deep story. People listen to those stories, but they don’t necessarily come across like they care. I’m genuinely curious. In my everyday life, I love helping people through issues. Out here, these people have very real problems that I’ve never seen or experienced before. To talk to people about those things would be a great test of my ability.

Related: Everything You Need to Know About Survivor Season 39

Give me a Survivor winner and non-winner you want to play like.

The non-winner would be Devon Pinto. He partnered up with Ryan right away, an unconventional duo. They were separated when the tribes split but came back together at the merge. That dude played a great game where he was under the radar in the beginning and helped win challenges and provide, but was never labeled as a caretaker or a big player. And when they got to the merge, he was able to turn his game on but was never in that much danger. That’s the person I want to model.

Fabio is also a person I’ve thought about wanting to replicate. He’s a fun, kooky dude. When he peed during a challenge, it was absolutely hilarious. It’s totally something I would do in my everyday life. But do I want to be to a stereotypical long-haired “beachy” guy that people don’t take seriously? Or do I want them to have serious talks with me and get to know me?

When your tribe visits Tribal Council, would you rather vote on strength or loyalty?

I would lean towards loyalty. I don’t think there’s one specific person who can win a team challenge. Look at Edge of Extinction. They vote Reem out and still lose. They vote Keith out and still lose. They vote Chris out and still lose. It doesn’t matter. At the same time, in the beginning, I’m going to stay under the radar. So if my other tribemates say, “We want to keep the tribe strong,” I’ll stay on that. And hopefully staying strong involves me! (Laughs.)

If you could bring one celebrity or fictional character out as your loved one, who would you pick?

Kit Harington. Abso-freaking-lutely. But he has to come out as Jon Snow, wearing the big cloak in Fiji with the sword. Ghost is welcome to come as well. A lot of people give Jon Snow crap for his tactics because he leads with his heart, but I just love the dude.

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