Jason Cooper, a 2008 Tulane alum, has been named "Louisiana Bachelor of the Year" by Cosmopolitan magazine. Cooper is now in the running for the "Cosmopolitan Magazine 2008 Bachelor of the Year," a title that comes with a $10,000 prize.
Cooper's sister's roommate and friend heard about the magazine's call for entries and entered him in the contest last spring "as a joke," he said.
Friend Josh Press, a senior, wrote the original application nominating Cooper.
"I took what I thought were facts about Jason that were both relevant and appealing to girls, and then wrote the girliest paragraph about him I could, using those facts. Cosmo ate it up," Press said.
Soon, Cooper began receiving phone calls and e-mails asking for more information about himself. He didn't think anything of it at first.
"I was applying for Teach for America at the time, so I thought it was related to that," he said.
Right after graduating in May, though, Cooper received an e-mail from a Hearst Magazines address, the publishing company that produces Cosmopolitan. The e-mail notified Cooper that he had been named "Louisiana's Bachelor of the Year."
"It really came out of nowhere," Cooper said.
Cooper said he hasn't been required to do much after receiving the title, but he did travel to New York in June for a photo shoot. The "Hot Bachelors of 2008" spread will appear in the November issue of Cosmopolitan. Meanwhile, as the "Bachelor of the Year" contest ends Sunday, Cooper has been busy spreading the word through e-mail, Facebook, friends and family, urging anyone he can reach to vote for him at Cosmopolitan's Web site.
Cooper, who double-majored in communications and photography, said the contest has allowed him to utilize skills he honed here.
"It's a practical application of what I studied for the past four years," Cooper said. "It's a really good introduction to the industry."
Cooper said that he may parlay the contest into some modeling work, but is more interested in making contacts in the media and photography industry. He said that if he wins, he will use the prize money to pay off his student loans and decide if he wants to attend graduate school.
He said that he wants the contest to bring exposure to the New Orleans area as well.
"If I win, I want to give some of the money to charity, too. It wouldn't be right or fair not to. It wouldn't be in the spirit of this city," Cooper said.
Cooper said that his family is "completely behind" his involvement in the competition.
"We're very proud of him," his dad, Steve Cooper, said.
Cooper and his friends are also enjoying the light-hearted side of the contest.
"My friends are all pretty amused by it," he said. "They think it's ridiculous and funny."
"It's a pretty funny thing to have happen for one of your friends. It's a cool opportunity. At worst, he'll meet some new cuties out of it," Press said. "At best, he'll win $10,000."
Cooper will be traveling to New York for the magazine's issue launch party on Tuesday, where the national winner will be announced.
2008 Woodie Awards
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Donkey Alumnus
posted 12/04/08 @ 8:42 AM CST
Total douche bag. Long hair, has a motorcycle, works out twice a day, treats people like shit, sucks at life.
Not getting my vote!!!
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