Ryan Chenevert found out he passed the bar exam last Friday, and less than a week later he had something else to celebrate.
Cosmopolitan magazine crowned the University and LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center alumnus as its Bachelor of the Year on Thursday night in New York City.
“I didn’t think I had a shot in hell,” he said.
Chenevert was awarded an oversized $10,000 check after beating out 51 other bachelors from across the nation. Readers could vote for their favorite bachelors online during October, and Cosmopolitan editors chose their Bachelor of the Year from the top 10 vote-getters.
Chenevert, the only lawyer in the competition, said he received the most votes, and the Cosmo editors unanimously chose to give him the honor.
The Bachelor of the Year said he will spend the contest money by paying off some of his student loans, throwing a party downtown for his family and friends and donating to charity, specifically Tigers Against Trafficking.
“[Tigers Against Trafficking is] really important to me because a few of my friends started it,” he said. “They can save somebody from modern slavery.”
Much like the Miss America Pageant, Cosmo Bachelor of the Year 2012 Contest competitors are frequently referred to by their home states’ names and not their first names. Chenevert was expecting Cosmopolitan to announce the winner by his state, not name.
So when the emcee made an “r” sound during the announcement, he thought the winner was the Rhode Island contender. But when his friends Adam Kenkel of Kansas and Nick
McCoy of Iowa shook his shoulders and shouted their congratulations, Chenevert was in shock.
“I heard my name, but it didn’t register,” he said.
Chenevert said he was immediately “whisked off to do a ton of interviews” with national media like VH1 and Entertainment Tonight. His phone “had more activity in the last two days than in the last five years” with friends’ congratulations and Louisiana media requests.
Chenevert said being from a less-populated area like Louisiana probably increased his odds at getting in the top 10 spots because the community rallied around him and because he received media attention from nearly every local newspaper and news station.
He said the experience has given him the opportunity to share his faith and encourage women to not settle for a less-than-worthy man.
Chenevert found out he would represent Louisiana in the spring after a friend entered him in the contest, but he wasn’t allowed to let anyone other than immediate family know until months later.
He was pictured shirtless in the November issue of Cosmopolitan with a brief interview showcasing his personality.
‘I didn’t think I had a shot in hell.’
