Alumni Spotlight: Heidi Lagares Greenblatt MS '08

Heidi Lagares-Greenblatt’s headshot on Survivor, season 44. Photo by Survivor via Heidi Lagares-Greenblatt.

From Red Fox to reality TV show contestant, Heidi Lagares-Greenblatt MS ‘08 has done it all. 

After graduating from Marist College with a Master’s degree in 2008, she became a runner-up in the popular adventure series “Survivor.” But her time at Marist helped her get there.

“I was already working in Poughkeepsie at IBM and did my master’s degree in information system management while I was working there,” she said. 

Lagares-Greenblatt completed her graduate education in a hybrid manner, taking classes both on campus and off. For her, it was the best of both worlds.

“I did some classes on-campus, but I also did some online classes because I was a working person. It worked great with the flexibility,” said Lagares-Greenblatt.

Combining both the virtual and in-person modes of education also allowed Lagares-Greenblatt to make long-lasting connections with peers — some of whom she is still friends with to this day. Coincidentally, it was not until she came to Marist, after receiving her undergraduate degree at the University of Puerto Rico, that she realized she wanted to focus more on people rather than technology. 

“At the time, I didn’t know that. I went into program management, and now, I am in people management. I think the foundation of my Marist degree helped me get there,” she said.

After Marist, Lagares-Greenblatt became a cast member on the 44th season of the reality competition show “Survivor,” which came about all because she followed her dreams. For her 40th birthday, she aimed to complete 40 goals, one of which was to submit a video application for the show. 

“What started as a bucket list item turned into reality. I recommend to anyone who has dreams that may seem crazy to go after it. You never know,” she said. 

For Lagares-Greenblatt, representing people like her was just as, if not more, important than surviving as an island castaway. “There's not a whole lot of representation on TV for people that are Latina or female, so for me, I really wanted to represent that,” she said. 

Lagares-Greenblatt has two pieces of advice to share with students that she learned from her time on the show. “Go after your dreams, no matter the age. I was 43 years old. At the very least, give it a try because you never know when they will become real.”

She also reiterates how she lived for 26 days with nothing, which made her realize that in truth, not much is needed to survive in real life.

“When you are in deep need, it's really your longing for your loved ones. Rely on the things that truly matter to you; the material things do not matter that much,” she said. “You need connections. When I had nothing, loved ones are what I thought about on the island.”