‘Survivor’ Christine Returns Home as Heroine Despite Elimination

Mineola native and current Merrick resident Christine Shields Markoski recently returned from her stint on the CBS hit show “Survivor: South Pacific.”

While Markoski did not win the competition, she is already be called one of the toughest female competitors in the show's 23 seasons.

In a Q&A about her elimination, the Insider.com's Jarett Wieselman said Markoski "established herself as one of the strongest female competitors the show has ever seen, winning five consecutive Redemption Island duels."

Markoski recently sat down for a one-on-one with Stacey Sweet, where she compared being on Redemption Island to driving on the Southern State Parkway. "You have to focus. You need patience," she said. "It’s very similar."

As for the experience, Markoski told Sweet that she had proven a lot to herself, and hopes that other women got the message:

"I did it. A 40-year old-woman, mother of two, wife, teacher. You think you hit 40 and you kind of go downhill, but I proved it wrong. I hope that women everywhere can see that, hey, 40 years old is still young. We still got it."

On her Facebook wall, fans have been reaching out to Markoski in support of her journey on the show.

"Congratulations Christine for making it that far without loosing your mind on redemption! You are a true survivor," one fan wrote.

Another fan said: "So proud of you! You fought so hard and deserved to be back in the game!"

Now for the 40-year-old Long Islander and 19-day "survivor," it's back to being a wife, mother and teacher on "Survivor: Merrick."