Prize validates PhD goals for recipient Michael Cohen

Michael Cohen grew up in Berkeley, California, among a family of artists and academics, attending Berkeley High School before coming to Colorado. He is a double-major in English literature and philosophy but takes great interest in many fields of study, including sociology, law, political science and anthropology. Michael is a competitive rock climber and an avid backcountry skier, mountain-biker, runner and alpinist, which helped him make the decision to attend university in Boulder, Colorado. He has worked as a photographer for university sororities for the last two years, but training consumes much of his time outside of scholastic endeavors. He also enjoys sailing, dancing tango, playing the Celtic harp, bringing vintage motorcycles new life, and traveling anywhere and everywhere he can go.

Next year, Michael will be attending University of Edinburgh, studying English literature and philosophy but also pursuing research for his senior thesis, which explores religious and political dissent in Medieval literature. He plans on graduatingsumma cum laude in 2017.

“I have always been motivated to earn my PhD and teach at a university level, so it is satisfying to have my abilities validated by this prize. I know that I will need an impressive list of academic achievements to gain admittance to the graduate schools that I hope to attend, and every distinction helps bolster my resume. I was particularly excited to enter the applicant pool for the Joanne Easly Arnold Award, as its flexibility in submissions requirements allowed me to select almost any essay that I wished. The winning submission was one of my largest projects to date, which gives me confidence when approaching my senior thesis well under way.”