I attended the Yale Crew Banquet in New York last night and sat in on the Crew Association meeting - it was good to reconnect with old friends and the coaching staff and to see how people are progressing with their careers and lives.The Yale women's crew and heavyweight crew celebrated last season's victories at the NCAA Division I Championship and the Yale Harvard race. I sat at a table with the parents of Alex Capelluto who was a Yale lightweight oarsman who died on May 18th 2006 in a bike accident. At the time, Alex had just finished his crew's final practice before the Eastern Sprints and was getting in some extra training on his bike on the road back to New Haven.
I had watched practice that day with Coach Card and the rest of the lightweights and was there when Andy received the call about the accident. Recounting some memories of Alex with his parents was incredibly hard but seeing their strength and resiliency was more than just inspirational.
In Alex's name, they have set up the Alexander Capelluto Foundation that provides funds for course supplies like text books, musical instruments, course packets, laboratory fees, etc. that financial aid awards do not cover. Yale did not have ANY mechanism in place prior to the start of the foundation to fulfill this need. Both of Alex's parents felt that no student should have to forgo academic exploration opportunities that they have in college because of financial constraints. To date they have helped over 140 students already expand their academic horizons.
I know I've spoken about this to you at some other points in time but please don't wait until something tragic happens to tell people that you care about them - our team WILL face challenges with our families, ourselves, and each other. I hope we can meet them knowing that we are never alone to deal with those problems.
If you would like to make a donation to the Alexander Capelluto Foundation please visit www.alexcap.org for more information. And please call your parents!
