All Events »

Arshay Cooper — The Impact of Access

February 2 @ 11:00 am - 12:30 pm

Members of the Williams College community gather for A Seat at the Table, a presentation at Claiming Williams in 2017. Press photo courtesy of Williams
Williams College

Athlete, awardwinning author and activist Arshay Cooper will speak on The Impact of Access, Relationship Building, and Leaving a Legacy as part of Claiming Williams Day.

The event will be live streamed and shown live on WilliNet TV channel 1303 in Williamstown. A link to the live stream will be available closer to the date.

More info »

Athlete, awardwinning author and activist Arshay Cooper will speak on The Impact of Access, Relationship Building, and Leaving a Legacy as part of Claiming Williams Day.
Arshay Cooper

Athlete, awardwinning author and activist Arshay Cooper will speak on The Impact of Access, Relationship Building, and Leaving a Legacy as part of Claiming Williams Day. Press image courtesy of Williams College

Arshay Cooper is a Bestselling and award-winning writer A 2x Golden Oar recipient for his contributions to the sport of rowing, a motivational speaker, activist, and the protagonist of the film A Most Beautiful Thing.

Arshay grew up on the West Side of Chicago in a community surrounded by gangs in drugs. In 1997 he joined (and later became captain of) the country’s first All-Black high school rowing team at Manley High School, an experience that changed his life.

He then dedicated two years of his life to AmeriCorps, focusing on DEI, and soon after that attended Le Cordon Bleu, becoming a personal chef for World Wrestling Entertainment, Warner Brothers film sets, and professional athletes.

After years as an entrepreneur in the food service industry, Arshay returned to his true passion: working with young people. He founded the NY East Side Rowing Club and worked as the national youth program guidance counselor for Victory Outreach International.

Arshay has also help started several rowing programs for low-income youth across the country, anywhere a puddle of water exists, so that other young people can experience the profound change that can happen on the water.

Arshay is the founder of the National Award-Winning Non-Profit, the A Beautiful Thing Inclusion Fund, which introduced thousands of under-resourced youth to the sport of rowing. Arshay’s mission has sparked the MLK Day of Service “DAY ON” for collegiate and high school sports teams across the country and community rowing events between local Police and community members.

Arshay message has spread all across the world, speaking for the members of Congress, the NBA and WNBA, the NAACP, the Obama Foundation, the Congressional Black Caucus, and professional sports teams (including the Oakland A’s, the Atlanta Hawks, the Miami Dolphins, the Atlanta Falcons, and the Chicago Bulls.)

The British, New Zealand, Australian, German, Dutch, Italian, French, Egyptian, Turkish, Canadian, and other Olympic teams are supporting Arshay and the film profoundly, including creating new charitable organizations and initiatives with under-served communities.

Universities and athletic directors across the United States (from Morehouse and other HBCU institutions to the University of Washington to Harvard, Yale, and Princeton) are all hosting events with Arshay.

This Claiming Williams morning keynote is co-sponsored by the Athletic Department, the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), AIA. Open to the public. All are welcome. This event will also be live streamed and shown on WilliNet TV channel 1303 in Williamstown.

By the Way Berkshires is a digital magazine exploring creative life and community — art and performance, food and the outdoors — and I’m writing it for you, with local voices, because I’ve gotten to know this rich part of the world as a writer and journalist, and I want to share it with you.

If you’d like to see the website grow, you can join me for a few dollars a month, enough for a cup of coffee and a cider doughnut. Members get access to extra stories and multimedia, itineraries a bookmark tool. Let me know what you're looking for, and we’ll explore together.

Event Details

Details

Date:
February 2
Time:
11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Event Categories:
, , ,

Event Location

Williams College
880 Main St.
Williamstown, MA
(413) 597-3131

Browse Events

Calendar of Events

M Mon

T Tue

W Wed

T Thu

F Fri

S Sat

S Sun

4 events,

5 events,

3 events,

4 events,

6 events,

8 events,

8 events,

3 events,

4 events,

8 events,

7 events,

-

Mass MoCA After Hours

6 events,

13 events,

Northern Lights Ball

5 events,

-

Q-MoB potluck

2 events,

3 events,

6 events,

Happy Together film

3 events,

3 events,

8 events,

-

Bark and Bud Tree ID

2 events,

2 events,

1 event,

-

Q-MoB Game Night

7 events,

3 events,

5 events,

7 events,

-

Collage workshop @ MCLA

Hyprov — Colin Mochrie and Asad Mecci

3 events,

3 events,

3 events,

5 events,

5 events,

3 events,

4 events,

4 events,