This episode of To Be Designed surrounds a conversation with Arshay Cooper. Arshay grew up on the West Side of Chicago and in 1997 joined the country’s first all-Black high school rowing team. He dedicated two years of his life to AmeriCorps, then attended Le Cordon Bleu in pursuit of his current career as a chef for critically acclaimed restaurants and companies such as the WWE, Warner Brothers, and various professional athletes. After finding all this success, Arshay decided to document his improbable, inspiring story in a now award-winning book titled “A Most Beautiful Thing.” The book was met with an impressive critical reception, and has since been adapted into a feature-length documentary film.

Arshay came to Northwestern two weeks ago to help celebrate the launch of the Segal Design Institute’s Personal Development StudioLab curriculum. He spoke to students, faculty and the community here in Evanston, and he was kind enough to sit down with To Be Designed hosts Leah Parsons and Sriman Narayanan. We discussed his amazing story, the meditative aspects of rowing, the impact of leadership and mindfulness in combating poverty, and so much more.

This episode was produced by Quynh-Nhi Tran and co-hosted by Sriman Narayanan and Carolyn Hagler. Editing by Nico Petry-Mitchel. Engineering by Mary Shirk. Marketing by Leah Parsons. Music by Drew McComas. Special thanks to Bruce Ankenman, Arshay Cooper, Mark Schumacher, and Casey Russell. To Be Designed is sponsored by the Segal Design Institute at Northwestern University.