Originally from Overland Park, Kansas, Cooper moved to Chicago in the fall of 2011 to begin his studies at Loyola University Chicago. In accordance with his academic passions, Carriger is majoring in Political Science and double-minoring in Education Policy Studies and Spanish. He is particularly interested in public policy initiatives and how they affect our societal inequties in regards to poverty, education, and economic development. After graduation in 2015, Carriger hopes to take two years off to do direct-service work before enrolling in a Master's in Public Policy graduate program. 

Currently, he works in for Loyola in the Office of Student Activities & Greek Affairs as an office assistant. In this capacity he executes a variety of administrative tasks, including scheduling, purchasing, and communicating University policy for the over 200 registered student organizations. Carriger's employment background contains strong customer service experience; he has worked as a full-time event planner, cocktail and restuarant server, and salesmen of gym memberships.

Carriger's extracurricular acitivites include being an executive board member of his fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, as well as a student body-elected cabinet member for Loyola's Unified Student Government Association (USGA). In both these roles he focuses on special events coordination, both internally and externally. He also has attended many leadership seminars and conferences, including the National Jesuit Student Leadership Conference (NJSLC), Loyola's Student Leadership Insitute, and The People's Institute. 

His other hobbies and passions include traveling, playing piano, art, staying up-to-date with current events, and advocating for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) equality.