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Student
named 'hottest bachelor'
Many college
guys rely on pick-up lines, but not Thomas Parkhill. He was chosen
by Cosmopolitan magazine as one of the “50 Hottest Bachelors
in the U.S.”
Parkhill can be seen in the November issue on newsstands now. The
24-year-old University of Montana graduate student from Columbia Falls
was chosen as the Montana representative on the list. However, he
was one of only 10 chosen to receive a full-page photo in the magazine
spread.
“The guys were flipping through the magazine and I saw a picture
of this guy and thought man, I had a pose just like that, and it was
me,” Parkhill said.
Parkhill, a physical therapy major, was nominated by friend and fellow
UM student Andrea Bethel. She entered him in the contest last May
against his wishes. In June she was notified that he had made the
cut and would be featured in the legendary women’s magazine.
Bethel called Parkhill and told him he had won. He then contacted
a Cosmo staff writer for an interview and agreed to a June photo shoot
in the Los Angeles area. Parkhill said he was in shock when he called
the magazine and asked an editor if he was the only man from Montana
who entered and found out he wasn’t.
The Disney Ranch outside Los Angeles was the location for a photo
shoot attended by Parkhill and 30 fellow bachelors. The remaining
participants were photographed in New York.
Parkhill traveled to New York earlier this month and was one of the
Cosmo men featured on The Today Show on Oct. 5. He was shown clad
in jeans and a black T-shirt with Montana across the chest, massaging
news anchor Katie Couric’s shoulders.
After his Today Show appearance, Parkhill visited the Cosmo offices,
attended a Cosmo-sponsored party and went club-hopping with other
Cosmo-chosen men. Cosmo editor-in-chief Kate White, as well as NBC
Apprentice star from last season, Ereka Vetrini, were in attendance.
At the party, Parkhill said, he received many cards from modeling
agencies, but it’s not a field he wants to pursue.
“I got some business cards,” he said, “But I have
a job. I’m in graduate school and I’m not going to move
to New York. I just have a lot of other responsibilities. I don’t
want to be known as a Cosmo model my whole life. It’s something
to show my kids, though.”
Parkhill, who arrived back in Missoula Oct. 6, said life hasn’t
changed much for him. He is still busy with work, school and being
a resident assistant in Aber Hall, only now he “gets looks”
and hears people whispering something about Cosmo around him, he says.
Parkhill is gaining in popularity among the girls. Before the magazine
officially hit newsstands, Parkhill had received about 10 e-mails
at his Cosmo address from girls interested in him. But by the day
after, he had received more than 30.
Sorry ladies, but before his status as one of the “50 Hottest
Bachelors” was announced, Parkhill had started dating his current
girlfriend, so technically he’s no longer a bachelor. He says
his girlfriend, also a UM student, fits all of his “Girlfriend
Must-Haves” featured in the magazine, including honesty, trustworthiness
and a witty sense of humor.
—By Brianne Burrowes
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