Bill Inoshita, CBS "Maybe I wasn't cut out for winning the million," says Ian Rosenberger, "and maybe that's not a bad thing." Click photo for larger image.

Though he wasn't named "Ultimate Survivor," Ian Rosenberger of Economy easily won the title of "Ultimate Good Guy" in Sunday night's finale of "Survivor: Palau."

In a final immunity challenge, Rosenberger stood on a buoy for almost 12 hours, finally giving up his chance to win the $1 million grand prize in exchange for repairing a broken friendship with eventual winner Tom Westman of Sayville, N.Y.

"I said all along friendship was more important, and the longer I sit up here, the more I feel a traitor to that and a traitor to myself," Rosenberger said.

Rosenberger, who grew up on a horse farm near Ambridge, came off as an affable, incredibly decent guy throughout most of the series, but his unflappability was tested on last Thursday's episode when fellow player and friend Katie Gallagher of Merced, Calif., was brought to tears over a perceived slight.

In Sunday's finale she attempted to stir the pot again, telling Westman, who was in an alliance with Rosenberger, that Rosenberger had planned to vote him out if he hadn't won an immunity challenge. Rosenberger didn't help his cause with a few statements of his own that appeared to make his alliance with Westman look less than a lock. In both cases, Rosenberger ended up in tears.

"I'll step down [off this buoy] and give up the million to get back your friendship," Rosenberger told Westman and Gallagher before doing just that.

In a phone interview from New York yesterday, the 6-foot-8-inch Rosenberger said he had no regrets about his decision.

"I was faced with a difficult decision: take the money or walk out with my head held high and having set a good example for my little sister," Rosenberger said. "When I looked at those two choices, the choice was easy for me."

He did acknowledge he might have been played by Gallagher, who he said is still a friend. He described the result of her scheming as "the show's 'Days of Our Lives' moment."

"I'm the youngest guy out there at that time, and I think some of my naivete got in my way," Rosenberger said. "I'm a pretty trusting person. I was had a little bit. You grow a little wiser on days like that. For me the game was so much more about honor than money and my lack of it for a little while.

"Unfortunately, maybe I wasn't cut out for winning the million, and maybe that's not a bad thing."

Rosenberger, 23, graduated from Penn State last May with a degree in agricultural extension and educational leadership.

Last year he was the undergraduate student government president at Penn State.

He had applied to be on CBS's "Amazing Race," but his tape made its way to "Survivor" producers, who picked him for their show.

Rosenberger was working with special-needs children in Florida using dolphins for therapy. He was let go when his employer discovered how long he'd be gone filming "Survivor."

Now he's hoping to find a job working in the entertainment industry behind the scenes in production.

Rosenberger said he can't explain his accent, which makes him sound more as if he's from New Jersey than the Pittsburgh area.

"People always ask me that," he said. "Some people think I'm from Fargo. Someone once said South Africa. Someone said Boston.

"I kind of like that you can't tell, you can't place me."

For the New York finale and reunion episodes Sunday night, Rosenberger was joined by his parents, Kim and Anthony, 13-year-old sister Kahla and four children with cancer through the Four Diamonds Fund, a charity he worked with while attending Penn State.

Sunday night "Survivor" host Jeff Probst announced the 11th edition of the reality show will be set among Mayan ruins and will be titled "Survivor: Guatemala -- The Maya Empire."