Alum takes on a new challenge as a Survivor contestant

As a Lockheed Martin program manager, Steven Ramm (AeroEngr’13) leads a team of engineers working on concept designs for NASA lunar exploration missions.

But last year, he took a break from his day-to-day job for a chance at $1 million in prize money on the long-running reality show Survivor. Ramm competed in season 49, spending weeks in Fiji to outwit, outplay and outlast as one of 18 competitors.

“I wanted to see what I’m made of when you take all of the support systems away and there’s no redundancies like a spacecraft. It’s just me, single-failure mode, and what can I make happen. It was the most fun I’ve had in my entire life,” Ramm said in September after filming concluded but before the season aired.

Season 49 aired in late 2025. Ramm excelled on the show, taking part in competition events and navigating the complex interpersonal intrigue for which Survivor is known. He was eventually “voted off the island,” but not until the penultimate episode.

Enduring weeks in the jungle, Ramm said the experience changed him.

“Growing up not being the best at math, but now being a successful aerospace engineer, I’ve always felt a little bit like an imposter in some of the NASA boardrooms and meetings. So to play the game and discover the edges of myself in such an exciting way, I learned there’s nothing that I can’t do if I put my mind to it,” Ramm said. “I think that rings true for everybody.”

Returning to Colorado after the extreme highs and lows of competing on the CBS show, it took Ramm some time to get back into the groove as a working engineer.

“Being out on the island, I felt like all of my emotions and senses were dialed up to 11,” Ramm said. “You’re always playing the game, 24/7 — and coming back home not playing that game, your day-to-day coworkers aren’t conspiring to vote you out of the company, but your mind is still a little bit geared that way.”

Photos: CBS