From The Stage To Survivor: Oklahoma Native Competes In Fiji

Survivor Season 42 kicked off Wednesday, and you may have noticed there's an Oklahoman on the show, and she's no stranger to the spotlight. 

If you missed it, her name is Tori Meehan, from Tulsa. 

For only the 4th time, an Oklahoman will be competing on "Survivor." 

"I am out here living my dream," said Meehan. 

For this one, getting to Fiji is only her latest strut on stage. 

In 2019 Tori was a handful of names from being a Miss Oklahoma finalist. 

Pageant circuits are full of women with high aspirations. 

So, it's no surprise Tori's Survivor story begins in the quest for the crown. 

"Pageants and Miss Oklahoma, the time I did there totally still impacts my life today. It doesn't just fit in those ten years," said Meehan. 

Many women spend years earning the title. 

"You always think this is my year. I am going to do it," said Meehan. 

That drive kept Tori in pageants year after year, and her dreams started coming true. 

- Miss Tulsa State Fair 

- Miss Keystone Lake 

- Miss Tulsa always royalty but never donning the Sooner tiara. 

A large draw to pageants is cash scholarships the contestants can win. So even though she didn't win, Tori didn't exactly lose either. 

"I was never Miss Oklahoma, and I never made the top 5, yet I was still able to graduate 100% debt free from my undergrad. I was also able to pay for 50% of my graduate degree," said Meehan. 

Tori became a therapist treating the body through the mind with that education, something she touched on while competing. 

"The way I treat eating disorders is I go through this mindset protocol," said Meehan. 

In the back of her mind, at all those pageants, Miss Tulsa kept hearing something else calling her name. 

"It came to where I was in my last year of eligibility for Miss Oklahoma," said Meehan. 

Tori got the casting call late last year, and this sealed her fate to chase the crown of sole survivor. 

"I am out here living my dream, but it is also my family's dream," said Meehan. 

Her family watched the show for years. 

Now-special "Survivor dinners" of rice and mandarin oranges are all too real as she fights for food and sleeps in a bamboo bed. 

But rest assured, Tori's prepared. 

"You might imagine having six years you have a lot of time to think about your strategy, so I came up with an acronym," said Meehan. 

That's right, Tori's been planning this since she was 18 years old. 

Grit and teamwork are the names of the game - the "T" game - as she calls it, bringing her therapy skills to the show to persuade other castaways to trust her. 

But don't think being a pageant girl has made her too soft. 

"I was a little less cutthroat at Miss Oklahoma," said Meehan. "I didn't come here to be the nice pretty girl that is boring. I came here to come to play, cutthroats, and crush dreams." 

Tori says we will have to tune in a week at a time to find out how far she goes. 

We're all wishing Tori the best of luck.