It was a regular afternoon.
She entered Yogurtland on Marshall Street to refresh herself from schoolwork, but this time was different — she had just won "Homecoming Queen at YogurtlandSU."
The reward? A free cup of frozen yogurt every day for the rest of 2013, and a free froyo party for her and 25 of her friends.
She’s outgoing.
She’s enthusiastic.
Her name is Laura Cohen, and she’s addicted to froyo.
"It's like a dream come true," said Cohen, a magazine journalism and women's and gender studies junior.
Cohen was randomly selected from a pool of 1,000 raffle ticket entries. However, the results seem well deserved.
Before being anointed as queen, Cohen would visit Yogurtland once or twice a week. The number sometimes rose to three when she "gets really crazy."
For Cohen, winning the title means more than saving eight or 10 dollars every week.
"People consider it as a dessert treat, but it's like a meal for me," said Cohen as she enjoyed a cup of froyo topped with strawberries and chocolates.
"It's food, and you need food for survival," she continued.
Cohen's passion for froyo came about three years ago, when she discovered a 16-handle froyo store in her hometown of Suffern, NY. She hasn't stopped tasting and exploring since.
Cohen loves cake-flavored froyo; red velvet is her personal favorite. She strays away from fruity flavors. However, if she had to describe herself as a flavor, it would be pineapple, because "fruity flavors are sweet and colorful, which is like me."
Over the summer, Cohen created a website called "Froyoverload" where she writes froyo critiques and reviews. Though she is an easy-going woman, Cohen is harsh and serious as a critic. She said she has had awful experiences with froyo, like times when there was no fresh fruit or the froyo melted too fast.
She values everything in a complete froyo experience, from cup design to spoon.
"Sometimes froyo is best when you least expect it," Cohen said as she recalled a froyo experience in a company's cafeteria.
For Cohen and her friends, decorating and adding toppings to froyo is fun "because it offers so much creative freedom."
Justin Dorsen, a public relations senior who has known Cohen for three years, is one of Cohen's froyo buddies. "We go together once a week, which we call 'froyo Thursday,'" he said.
"When we have time for froyo, where else can we go?" asked Cohen.
Besides froyo, Cohen likes spicy tuna rolls and Italian food, but loves “nothing as much as froyo, not even ice cream," she said.
