Ashley Mercer, of Lawrence, will soon have greater local recognition with the debut of the MTV reality show Stranded

Ashley Mercer speaks from experience when she says life on a South Seas island isn’t paradise.

The 20-year-old Lawrence woman spent time last spring on a tropical island in the South Pacific as part of the MTV reality show “Stranded with a Million Dollars.” Revealing just how long she was on the deserted island with the other nine cast members would give away too much about how the show plays out, but Mercer said she was on the island long enough to learn that while it could be beautiful, it wasn’t always idyllic.

“When it rains, it pours,” she said. “It rained more than I would have ever expected. I wasn’t expecting such fluctuations in temperatures. It was insanely hot during the daytime and brutally cold at night.”

Mercer and nine other contestants were dropped off on the island to vie for part of a $1 million prize. If that sounds familiar, there are twists that distinguish the MTV show from the granddaddy of reality shows, “Survivor.” In “Stranded,” the 10 contestants were dropped on the island with the prize money, which they can spend with a majority vote on items to make their situation more comfortable. But as the show’s website says, the costs of those comforts were “crazy expensive,” giving the example of a $30,000 tent.

Ashley Mercer

Hanging on to the money was the goal because all those who remain on the island after 40 days split what’s left of the $1 million.

“It wasn’t a winner take all,” Mercer said in an interview that included MTV publicist Jason Shumaker. “It’s a completely different game than ‘Survivor.’ The only way to leave or go home is if you decide you don’t want to be there. There are other aspects of the game that makes it more difficult than sitting around the campfire singing ‘Kumbaya’ all night.”

Like many reality shows, teamwork and alliances were important, Mercer said.

“Absolutely. Your relationships with other people either help or hurt your chances of winning money,” she said. “The relationships you formed were integral.”

“Stranded” has another twist that sets it apart, Shumaker said. Production, he maintained, didn’t involve a camera crew hanging close to contestants as they dealt with the environment and each other. Instead, it used drones, tree-mounted remote cameras, microphones and some long-range cameras.

Mercer said her involvement was something of a lark.

“It wasn’t something that was a dream of mine or anything,” she said. “I was watching a TV show with friends on how to get on a reality show. I applied online. It just kind of fell in place.”

Things moved quickly after submitting the application, which included a couple of her photographs and a description of her personality, Mercer said. She had a whirlwind three weeks of interviews before catching a flight to the show’s location.

An MTV brief biography of Mercer states that she’s a tomboy who grew up hunting and fishing in rural Kansas. Mercer was born in Kansas City, Mo., and moved as a child with her family to Lenexa, graduating in 2014 from Shawnee Mission West High School.

“I basically grew up in northwest Missouri where my family is from,” she said. “I spent a lot of time outdoors hunting and fishing. I learned outdoor skills doing that with my dad and uncles.”

The skills were helpful on the island, although Mercer said there wasn’t any big game to hunt. Living off the land meant catching crabs and fish, she said, adding that she dropped a few pounds during her island stay.

“Not as much as I’d have liked,” she said. “I wasn’t gorging on hamburgers two or three times a week, so I dropped a few pounds. That is probably not a bad thing.”?

Mercer moved to Lawrence to attend the University of Kansas, but left school when she couldn’t decide what she wanted to study. She now works at Amarr Garage Doors and has a newfound happiness with her Lawrence life.

“I definitely learned to appreciate what I have here at home,” she said. “I learned to not take everyday luxuries for granted. I gained quite a few friendships and am so grateful for the opportunity to participate in something so life-changing.”

The show premieres at 9 p.m. Feb. 21 on MTV. More on Mercer and the show can be found at mtv.com/shows/stranded.