Old scholar, Survivor contestant Nick Iadanza ready for reunion

Nick Iadanza knows a thing or two about staying loyal to the tribe.

That loyalty served him well during two seasons on reality TV show Australian Survivor, but also led to more than two decades of friendship with his mates from school.

Mr Iadanza (BPS’05) – a teacher, dad-of-three, author and podcast host – is among a group of old scholars who, later this month, will head back to Blackfriars for their 20-year reunion.

Speaking on The Torch – Old School podcast, Mr Iadanza told host Hudson Cosgrove (BPS’23) that, even today, 20 years after graduation, he had a special place in his heart for Blackfriars.

“I think of my time here so fondly. It’s the place where I grew up (and) all my friends are still my friends from school,” said Mr Iadanza, who is the Head of English at Prince Alfred College.

“My friends and I still get together and talk about our time here; the funny times, the silly times, things we learnt, the people we met.”

Mr Iadanza first arrived at Blackfriars in 1996 as a Year 3 student.

“Back in the day, that was the first year you could enter – so, I did the route from St Dom’s to Blackfriars, which was a popular route for people, where we did Reception, (Years) 1 and 2 at St Dominic’s and then moved over here,” he said.

“So, I saw a lot of change then, but since I left, (the school) has changed completely.

“I came 10 years ago for the reunion and was blown away, but even just walking in now, it’s taken it to another level.

“It’s like a little oasis. When you walk in the gates, you feel like you’re in this special little hub. It’s a pretty special place.”

Mr Iadanza knew from his early high school days that he wanted to be a teacher. He recalls “ranking” his own teachers in his mind and analysing what worked – and what didn’t – in the classroom.

And then, in the early 2000s, another dream was born – to be a contestant on reality TV show Survivor.

The show, which premiered in the US in May 2000, sees a group of strangers stranded in a remote location, where they have to survive with minimal supplies.

They live together, form alliances and compete in physical and mental challenges. Every few days, they go to Tribal Council where they vote one person out. The ultimate goal is to “outwit, outplay and outlast”.

“I am a huge Survivor fan, always have been,” Mr Iadanza said.

“I remember being here at school and talking with friends about Survivor, hoping that the show would just even last long enough to keep watching it.”

In 2016, an Australian version of the show was launched, with Mr Iadanza earning a spot in that inaugural season, filmed in Samoa.

“I was very excited to do that and I Ioved it. I had such a good time. I became a little bit of a villain (he became known as Nick “The Snake”) … but what I loved about that experience was that it was my number one bucket-list item in life and I got to tick it off – twice.”

He was then invited to play a second time, in Australian Survivor: All Stars, which aired in 2020.

“It sounds so dumb that (Survivor) was my life goal, but it was so important to me. So, when I got to achieve it once, and then twice … I thought maybe I can do the things that I have always wanted to do. So, I came back and wrote a bucket list and the next thing on that list was to write my novel.”

The first draft of that novel – a fictional story inspired by Mr Iadanza’s own family and Italian migration to Australia in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s – is almost complete.

“Hopefully it will come out one day,” he said.

“I’ve done a lot of things in my life that, if you come from a place of fear, it’s never going to happen. So, I’ll just write it and hope for the best. Hopefully someone wants to buy it!”

• Class of 2005 | 20-year reunion, Friday, 30 May, 5.30pm. Register here.