David Cohen – 50th Reunion Essay

David Cohen

315 West 70th St., Apt. 10C

NewYork, NY 10023

davidxxcohen@gmail.com

College: Saybrook

My life after Yale can be divided into two phases: pre-Jane and post-Jane. By Jane, I refer to my wife, Jane Moos Cohen, whom I met and married in 1992 and with whom I have a wonderful son, Zak.

After graduating from Yale with a degree in political science and economics, I decamped for Boston to pursue a Ph.D. in political science at Harvard. Despite enjoying Cambridge, I was not enamored of Harvard’s doctorate program and dropped out after the first year. Somehow, I retooled myself as a computer programmer and worked at several start-up firms around Boston.

Eventually, I migrated into business consulting, moved to New York and worked for Accenture and other firms specializing in financial services. I also received an MBA from Boston University. Eventually, I joined JPMorgan Asset Management where I work today.

My personal life, however, was drab until a miracle happened. In April 1992, I was headed to a Chicago Symphony concert at Carnegie Hall. By habit, I bought my ticket on the street close to concert time. A woman was offering a single ticket. Since the bell was ringing and knowing that the value of her ticket would soon drop dramatically, I asked for a discount. She accepted.

I sat next to Jane during the concert and we began talking. I invited her to another concert two nights later and one thing led to another. We got engaged among the red rocks of Sedona in August and were married in her home town of Chicago that October.

Jane has been a total blessing to me. In addition to her unconditional love and support, Jane has an enormous circle of friends, many from childhood. They value her level-headed advice and her unselfishness in helping others. Professionally, Jane is an architect practicing at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and currently at HLW International working with Google and other clients.

We live on the Upper West Side in New York and, on weekends, in New Milford, Connecticut, where I grew up and went to a one-room schoolhouse. My wife lent her architectural skills and unflagging energy to renovate an old Victorian house on the town green in which my father practiced law until age 90. At 97, he now resides with us in this lovely home.

My second blessing came with the birth of our son, Zak, in 1994. Although parenting had its challenges, we were gratified to watch Zak grow and mature. A special moment was our visit to Uganda for Zak’s Bar Mitzvah among the Abayudaya, a native African community of Jews dating back 90 years. Another achievement was our visit to all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums.

Zak graduated from Niagara College with a degree in brewing. Now 23, he lives and works in New York.

In yet another stroke of good fortune, I survived cancer 25 years ago and a heart attack 15 years ago.

Our hope is to retire soon, travel and enjoy all that life has to offer.