By Sarah Lagasse
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Many people in today's society are plagued with the inability or unwillingness to look beyond their own small wants and desires to help those who may be struggling around them. This unfortunate perspective, that so often becomes normalcy, is what Bridgewater native, Sullivan Cohen, is trying to educate against. In response to Cohen's excellence in the classroom as well as his inspiring empathy for the needs of others in his community, we proudly present Sullivan as January's "MVP Off the Field".
Cohen is a Sociology major with a concentration in Global Studies. He is also pursuing a minor in Economics. During his freshman and sophomore years, Sullivan maintained a 4.0 GPA, earning both commonwealth and departmental honors as well as an alumni scholarship.
"Using the knowledge I gain from studying sociology," Cohen explains, "I hope to eventually be able to use my passions to help affect change in the world."
For the past three semesters, Cohen has discovered that by working as a math coach he can use his academic excellence to help others. Sullivan teaches a statistics class every Friday as well as provides one on one tutoring for those who feel they would benefit from it.
Currently, Sullivan works with the group Friends and Mentors (FAM) for Change. In this program, college students are paired with Brockton High School students who are at risk of dropping out of school. FAM for Change mentors also organize and run leadership-building activities as well as programs to raise awareness of social justice issues that are affecting our planet.
For the past three years, Cohen has been a member of the Bridgewater State University chapter of Free the Children. Currently, Sullivan leads our chapter of this organization as its president. "Free the Children is an international charity organization which works to build schools and promote children's rights in poor nations. The organization seeks to accomplish this goal through encouraging students to organize together and become leaders in addressing social issues and making a change in the world." ("BSU Free the Children Profile")
"The issues that resonate the most with me are those involving injustices to children," Cohen laments. "The fact that children are used as weapons for war, objects for sex, [and] tools for labor absolutely sickens me."
"I am president of Free the Children because I, along with a community of others, [want] to see issues of this nature eradicated, leaving them to be distant memories of a once broken world," added Cohen.
Sullivan participates in many other events and organizations that educate and raise awareness about social issues. For three years he has been an active member of the Social Justice League. Recently he participated in Tent City, an event in which participants live in tents outside of the Rondileau Campus Center for one week to get a taste of what homelessness is like.
Last year, Cohen participated in the Point in Time Count on Bridgewater State University's Task Force to End Homelessness. Sullivan helped the group determine how many people are homeless while interviewing these individuals about what issues they face on a daily basis as well as what their most primary needs are.
For the past two years, Cohen has attended "We Day" through the Community Service Center. "We Day" takes place in Canada and is a celebration of the movement of young people from across North America making a difference in their communities and around the world.
Cohen expresses that swimming for Bridgewater State University has taught him to never give up or give less than his best. Clearly, Sullivan has applied this lesson to all aspects of his life.
In the future, Sullivan hopes to conduct research in the field of neoliberal economic globalization. He also dreams of becoming an outreach/motivational speaker for Free the Children or other organizations like it. We are excited to watch Sullivan change the world using the knowledge and passion that he has already exhibited here at Bridgewater State University.