Who is Cory Wurtenberger from ‘Big Brother 25’ and why does his name sound so familiar?

Cory Wurtenberger is already making a name for himself in the latest season of Big Brother. But why does Cory’s name already seem familiar? And just who is this houseguest whose fate is anything but certain on the reality TV show?

As one of the younger houseguests this season, at just 21 years old, Cory’s chances of winning the show have already been cast in doubt after a giant hand dragged him to the “Nether Region,” Legend of Zelda style, at the end of one of the challenges on the show’s season premiere on Wednesday. Not only that, but Cory is now considered to be on the chopping block with three other houseguests, meaning he could be the first person to face eviction in the game.

Reality show lineage

This precarious position Cory finds himself in is a far cry from his older brother’s aspirations for him. You see, Zach Wurtenberg, a contestant from Survivor‘s season 42 last year, said on social media he hoped his sibling’s stint on Big Brother would help to “redeem the Wurtenberger name.” Since Zach was actually the first contestant to be voted off of Survivor last year, if his brother Cory succumbs to a similar fate on Big Brother, it would ironically seem as if a reality TV curse has fallen upon the entire Wurtenberger clan.

Cory’s presence on Big Brother is one of three total connections to Survivor in the new season. That is because the son of legendary Survivor contest Cirie Fields, Jared Fields, is also a houseguest. Not only that, but Cirie herself was revealed to be a surprise 17th houseguest joining the packed cast.

What does Cory do in his real life?

In terms of Cory’s life outside of Big Brother, the Weston, Florida-raised college student enjoys “playing golf, hanging out with friends, and public speaking,” according to a bio listed in the Vanderbilt Political Review (via Hollywood Life).

When Cory is attending Vanderbilt University, where he is currently pursuing studies in political science and communication, he lives in Nashville. Cory also boasts the extracurricular of being president of the university’s forensics team (the kind of forensics that’s related to public communication rather than the study of physical evidence for criminal investigations).

Cory also works as a coach for younger students entering the debate field. As a 3P Speech coach, he offers his services for a nominal fee for middle school and high school students to improve their debating and public speaking skills.

Though Cory is facing the possibility of being the first houseguest to be kicked off of Big Brother, his ambitions were initially much higher. As he explained in his first foray to the Diary Room, via The Exclusive with Sharon Tharp‘s “First Impressions of the New Cast” video, Cory’s original strategy was to lower his “threat level” as much as possible. This persona of humbleness would work in his long-term plan to hopefully win enough people over for him to have a shot at staking a claim in the competition. Cory’s top goal out the gate would be to win Head of Household, granting him ultimate dominion over the house.