GORHAM – The mother of a 23-year-old Gorham woman who will appear on this fall’s edition of the reality TV show “Survivor” says her family has disconnected their home phone after being deluged by calls about the program.

But relatives of Julie Berry, a youth mentor and 1999 graduate of Gorham High School, say they are glad to see her getting all the attention.

“We’re absolutely ecstatic for Julie,” said Judith Berry, her mother. “We hope everyone will watch and cheer her on.”

CBS announced the cast of the ninth “Survivor” program on Tuesday. Berry will be one of 18 castaways on the program, which takes place in Vanatu, a nation of 80 volcano-dotted islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean. The series begins at 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 16.

Les and Judith Berry adopted their daughter when she was 4. Julie Berry was born in Lewiston and is an American Indian from the Maliseet tribe. Her brother Chris, 27, lives in North Carolina.

“She loves the outdoors and is very adventuresome. She’s the girl that would jump off the cliff, climb the highest tree and give her mom a heart attack,” Judith Berry said.

Julie Berry joined the Peace Corps in 2003 and worked with youths at risk. She has worked as a behavioral interventionist for adopted children, and plans to pursue a master’s in counseling. She was recently reunited with her biological sister.

CBS officials have forbidden Berry’s friends and family from disclosing any information on Berry’s current whereabouts or anything she has done since she left for Vanuatu, including whether she won the $1 million prize.

But Judith Berry said her daughter is “very outgoing, very popular and an excellent people person” – skills that could help her in the competition.

Zoe Zanidakis of Monhegan Island was the first Maine contestant on “Survivor.” The commercial fisherman and charter boat captain was voted off the South Pacific Island of Nuku Hiva in the ninth episode of the 2002 series.