Hope in Motion
Date and Time:
Sep 24 2026 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Location:
Evanston Township High School Auditorium
Address:
1600 Dodge Ave., Evanston, IL 60201

Note: Event start time is Central Time (CT).

NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED.

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Arshay Cooper

Bestselling author, speaker, rower

Hope in Motion

Activism | Belonging | Community | Diversity | Education | Equity | Inclusivity | Memoir | Motivation | Sports | Transformation | Youth

Book Giveaway: FAN is giving away copies of Let Me Be Real with You at the event, while supplies last.

Hope is more than something we feel. It is something we put into motion. In “Hope in Motion,” a powerful, story-driven keynote, bestselling author and rower Arshay Cooper explores how courage, resilience, connection, and a sense of belonging can carry us through uncertainty, fear, and life’s most difficult moments.

Cooper knows that terrain firsthand. As captain of America’s first all-Black high school rowing team, at Manley High School on Chicago’s West Side, he learned early what it takes to keep going when the odds are long and the water is unfamiliar. Here he invites audiences to think differently about what it means to “do it afraid,” to tend to their own mental and emotional wellbeing, and to recognize the strength that comes from knowing they are seen, supported, and not alone.

At the heart of the talk is a simple idea: hope grows when we give it to one another. Through lessons about trust, service, empathy, and showing up for others, Cooper shows how each of us can lift someone higher, within our families, our relationships, and our communities. Audiences leave inspired to face challenges with courage, to strengthen the connections that matter most, and to turn hope into action in everyday life, because the hope we receive has the power to become the hope we give.

Cooper is a #1 national bestselling author, international motivational speaker, and the protagonist of the award-winning documentary A Most Beautiful Thing. He has devoted his life to empowering young people through athletics. His memoir became the documentary of the same name, and his second book, Let Me Be Real with You, hit #1 on the USA Today bestseller list. He has spoken to more than a quarter million young people worldwide and founded the A Most Beautiful Thing Inclusion Fund, which partners with rowing programs across the country, including at Evanston Township High School.

This event is suitable for youth ages 12 and up. It will be recorded but not live streamed and available on FAN’s website and YouTube channel.

NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED.