LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV Book Club, which is a partnership between UNLV Athletics and University Libraries, will welcome "A Most Beautiful Thing" author Arshay Cooper to speak at its virtual meeting Tuesday at 4:30 pm.

The UNLV Book Club was formed in October and is co-chaired by Director of Athletics Desiree Reed-Francois and Dean of University Libraries Maggie Farrell. It is open to all UNLV students, including student-athletes, with the group focusing on one book per semester, holding regular discussion groups via virtual video conferences.

Fall 2020's book selection – "A Most Beautiful Thing" – is a moving true story of a group of young men grown up on Chicago's West Side who form the first all-Black high school rowing team in the nation. In doing so, they not only transform a sport, but also their lives. The book was selected as it touches on a number of current issues including racism, education, trauma, and family.

Watch the Movie: "A Most Beautiful Thing" via Peacock | Amazon Prime



Cooper hopes to make an impact on the UNLV students during Tuesday's Book Club meeting.

"My hope is that they take something away from our discussion, which will center on learning how to play or act in the midst of a crisis," Cooper said. "I'm hoping that they find their resilience to crisis and how to allow the fire inside to shine brighter than the fire around them. No matter how hard it is, how do you endure the pain in the sport and outside the sport? How do we play through the crisis?"

Cooper signed up for the rowing team by a chance encounter in high school with the initial thought that it was a way for him to travel to other cities and states and the chance to get away for a little bit. It was during the competitions and long trips that Cooper and his teammates began to open up and learn about each other knowing they grew up with similar circumstances, sharing the same struggles while living on the West Side and participating in a predominantly white sport. 

His public speaking career began in high school and continued as he joined the AmeriCorps and then attended Le Cordon Bleu to become a chef where he later worked for Warner Brothers, the World Wrestling Federation as well as serving as a chef for celebrities.

Speaking about his career and food took a turn when he realized that "this was not enough" when he was talking to students that grew up like he did.

"I have to do more," Cooper noted at the time. "I have to tap into the way it was for me growing up, but how did I get out and that was the answer. What's the roadmap here? How do we get to where you are? That's why I decided to write the book. After I wrote it, I kind of just threw myself into the speaking and opening boat houses and using this sport to change lives."

Cooper elaborated on the importance of participating in the UNLV Book Club.

"Looking at the world today, I feel like every young person has energy." he said. "We live in a world where you see through social media that they need to do something, and I think being around the sport for a long time and being a leader and activist, that you always want to be in a position where you're providing answers to how to act on what's happening in the world today. Through the wisdom of the book, and through the film, I think it would motivate young people to do something, and I will leave them knowing what they have to do next. If you want to come, you want to learn, you want to know a little bit more about what's happening in the world, and you want to know what you can do as a student-athlete, I can give you some of the answers."

There is no charge for UNLV students to join the book club and a limited number of books have been made available on a first-come, first-served basis. To register for the book club, please Click Here.

The UNLV Book Club's third meeting is scheduled for December 14.

-UNLV-