Alumni Spotlight: Hannah Cohen

By Ayaan Abbasi

After Hannah Cohen went to her first IU Dance Marathon in her freshman year in 2018 and saw the tie-dye shirts lighting up the stage with the line dance, she knew that she wanted to get more involved in the organization.

Little did she know, that committee in the tie-dye shirts would become her home on campus.

Cohen first joined the Morale committee as a committee member and then served as a chair for two years. 

A specific memory that stuck out to her during that time was when the final number was revealed at the end of her first marathon, totaling up to $4.25 million. 

She said the excitement that she felt during this moment encouraged her continued commitment to IUDM. 

Cohen said that while that total number helped to quantify the dedication that every person in the room had toward supporting Riley Hospital for Children, it also helped show her the impact that the organization had on her life.

That community she found through her time in the organization is what sticks out to her to this day and is a constant through her memories of that time. That community included other IUDM committee members she would meet. 

“Everyone cares for each other no matter what committee you’re on,” Cohen said.

She remembers that whenever someone said they were a part of IUDM, everyone was excited to see what committee they were on and ask them about their experience, a mentality that persists today. 

“Being a part of IUDM attracts good people,” Cohen said.

In continuing her professional growth, her goal is to find a full-time job that she is passionate about as much as she is passionate about IUDM by continuing to work in nonprofits in the future. Following her graduation, she now works in Chicago but still remembers her time in IUDM, specifically the lifelong friends that she made and the community that it created.