Technological leadership degree graduates its 1st student

Editor's note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable fall 2021 graduates.

Parker Cohensitt became the first-ever graduate from the Interplanetary Initiative’s Bachelor of Science in technological leadership degree this week.

The native Arizonan was drawn to Arizona State University because of his interest in space exploration. Cohensitt enrolled in the brand-new technological leadership program when he was a junior, and through the program, he found that there was a different way of learning.

“The classes are a lot smaller, it feels a lot more personal, and in a way you kind of get to choose what you want to learn. That’s something I’ve really valued and appreciated. It’s made me feel a lot more passionate about being curious and asking questions,” he said. 

“A lot of students define tech leadership differently but the way I define it is that it’s a lot more inquiry-based rather than going to the typical lecture hall with 300 students and you go and take notes and then leave.

Cohensitt’s parents appreciate how well the degree prepared him for the workforce. 

“It was an integrated major and he really came out of his shell with this. It was amazing to watch him grow and gain the confidence he needed to be able to now go out into the world and work,” said his mom, Rhona Cohensitt.

As he looks forward to a successful career in the aerospace sector, Cohensitt has no doubt that Arizona State and Tech Leadership were the right choices to prepare him to be a lifelong learner.

“I really appreciate the diversity and the resources, just how big of a scale ASU really is. I’ve just been really grateful for the experience.” he said. “Not only is the stuff that I’ve learned good for finding a career, it’s also just good life skills which are very valuable and something I don’t normally learn in classrooms. Tech leadership doesn’t just prepare you for a career, it prepares you for life.”