Olympic rower Molly Reckford and award-winning author and rower Arshay Cooper joined San Miguel Academy rowers for their Rev. Martin Luther King Day of Service. San Miguel Academy hosted a rowing exhibition and raised over $2000 in support of Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornell NICU and the Knights of Columbus Relief Fund for those impacted by the California Wildfires.
Molly Reckford, who competed in the women’s lightweight double sculls event at both the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, was on hand to cheer them on and to offer some coaching tips. Before the exhibition, Molly shared her rowing journey with the San Miguel Academy student-athletes, which included a lot of “getting kicked down but never quitting.” A walk-on at Dartmouth College, Molly stuck with it all four years and emphasized that she was always a student first and an athlete second. After a few years in the workforce and rowing with a master competitive team in Menlo Park, Molly decided to go all in on her dream of becoming an Olympian. Sacrificing financial security and living off her savings, Molly dedicated herself to training; she told the students, “You have to decide every day that you’re going to do it, continually asking yourself, how far are you willing to go for what you love?” After the exhibition, Molly signed Olympic postcard mementos and took a tour of the School, including a demonstration of the STEMPilot simulator by two of our 'senior' aviation students!
Arshay Cooper is one of the driving forces behind the success of the San Miguel Academy Rowing program. Thanks to his support and encouragement, San Miguel Rowing has been able to find its competitive edge at both indoor and outdoor events. A Most Beautiful Thing Inclusion Fund supports Arshay's work of bringing rowing, academic support, and college access to under-resourced communities. Thanks to the Fund, San Miguel Rowing received two new 2-person Hudson boats, named for black rowers Malcolm Hawkins and Alex Osborne, who competed in the 2012 Olympics in London, and 20 state-of-the-art ergometers for year-round dry land training.
Arshay’s work has been featured in many national publications, including The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, and People Magazine. It has inspired the founding of new diversity-focused rowing programs worldwide. A much sought-after speaker, Arshay has shared his message of human potential with top corporations, universities, and nonprofits, including the Obama Foundation, the Aspen Institute, JP Morgan, and Princeton University.
