Playboy Model Emily Cocea Chooses Law School Over 'Marrying Rich'!

Emily Cocea is doing it all. The double majoring college student, intern and model has her sights set on law school in the near future is determined to shape her own destiny while being an inspiration to many others. 

Not only is Cocea modeling on the Playboy creator platform, but she’s also doing an internship working with the legal team and gaining valuable lessons along the way. 

Cocea, 20, who currently resides in Washington, D.C. for a semester program, was totally new to modeling when she became a creator on Playboy's digital platform. She said it "kind of fell into my lap." And her Playboy journey didn't stop at just modeling.

"I saw a post on Playboy's Instagram and applied to be a creator that same night. I remember feeling so ecstatic," she told The Blast exclusively.

"About a month into being a creator, employees from Playboy reached out to talk about how well I was doing on the platform. The next week I came into the office, presented my vision for the platform, and walked out with an internship."

Cocea is a double major at Carnegie Mellon University, on the Dean's List with high honors, a national champion in speech and debate, and advises models on copyright infringement in conjunction with Playboy's legal team. She also attends bi-weekly meetings with the heads of various Playboy divisions. Her ambition doesn't stop there. After college, the model plans to go to law school.

"I've always wanted to be a lawyer, to which I accredit both my love for debate - I've participated in many debate competitions at the state level - and 'Legally Blonde,'" she explained.

"Afterwards, I see two potential paths. One would be staying in the academic field and pursuing as many degrees as possible. The other would be to work in the legal industry and provide legal support and protection for women who post adult content. I plan on doing both at some point or another. I want to spend my life as a student and an advocate."

Not only has working with Playboy given Cocea the ability to pay for her education and potentially fund her future legal career, but it's also helped her to feel comfortable being herself. Being surrounded by other inspirational women who are challenging societal norms has helped to empower the hard-working student. Cocea said the best part about being a part of Playboy is that she worries less.

"I worry so much less now. With Playboy, I don't have to stress about paying for school," she told The Blast. "I get to focus on what I love most, and I thank my lucky stars for that every day. That is easily the best part."

Cocea has some tips for other women who are tackling a lot all at once like she is with school, interning and modeling.

"I think my best advice would be to only take on the things that are worth it for you. For me, I don't mind working as hard as possible right now if it means I can pursue a career in academia and know that the money isn't a stressor long term," she said.

"There's a pressure to be everything all at once for women, because sadly the bar is set higher for women than it is for me. Men can be mediocre and still succeed, whereas women have to be incredible to even get opportunities. That's something I know all too well. I think women shouldn't succumb to that pressure to be everything though."

Cocea further explained that she only took on two majors because she loves the classes. She took on the internship because the work "matters" to her, and she models so she can help to secure her future independence.

"If something is important to you, you can always make it work," she added. "And if it isn't, drop it and make room for what is."

Being an intern at Playboy means working hard to ensure that other models understand copyright infringement, and Cocea has learned a lot. She said it's important for models to fully understand copyright infringement because it's "beyond imperative to protecting yourself online."

"Specifically, when it comes to copyright infringement, there are people who don't see the work we do as work and who are more than eager to put you in danger and/or harm your business," she explained. "Knowing how the law will or will not protect you is a crucial form of protection from these malicious parties."

The biggest lesson Cocea has learned working with Playboy's legal team is "how little oversight there really is to regulate matters online from a legal perspective."

She explained that federal legislation has not been updated to "reflect the rapid advancement of social media in recent years," and that leave people on social platforms vulnerable when it comes to privacy and date security.

Cocea said that Playboy has opened up a whole new world for her and has a message for other women thinking about applying to be a creator on the platform.

"A lot of women think that posing for Playboy is demeaning, or anti-woman. If it were not for Playboy though, my highest aspirations would've directly correlated to the amount of debt I was willing to take on or if I was willing to marry rich," she told The Blast.

"My dreams of going to law school would not have been possible for me. Now, I will never have to worry about my security ever again. Playboy is not for everyone, and I understand that. But personally, Playboy opened up the world to me and expanded my horizons."