Author, philanthropist, and U.S. Polo national champion Kareem Rosser will be visiting campus on Oct. 6 to discuss his book “Crossing the Line: A Fearless Team of Brothers and the Sport that Changed their Lives Forever.” 

Rosser will be signing copies of the book, which was assigned to first-year students as a “Common Read” in their first-year seminars, beginning at 4:30 p.m. on the 2nd floor of the Commons. The speaking event will begin at 6 p.m. in the Kuch Alumni Gymnasium. 

The book chronicles Rosser’s journey from Philadelphia to spots on the first all-Black United States Polo Association’s High School National Championship team and the U.S. Polo Division I Men’s Intercollegiate National Championship team, and his selection as the 2015 U.S. Polo Association’s Intercollegiate Player of the Year. 

“The thing that seems to shock people most about Philadelphia, above all else, is when I tell them about the horses in our neighborhood,” Rosser writes in the book. “Imagine walking down an inner-city block; there are the usual papi stores (our name for bodegas), folks sitting out on their stoops and hanging on the street corners, men drinking in empty lots and kids running wild, and then, out of nowhere, a Black man comes charging down the street on a full-grown horse. In my neighborhood, that could happen any time.”

Rosser is now a financial planner and sits on the board of the Work to Ride program, a  nonprofit community-based prevention program that aids under-resourced urban youth through constructive activities centered on horsemanship, equine sports, and education. It also offers various equestrian programs, horseback riding lessons, summer camp, discovery days, and a polo program.

All first-year students will also have the opportunity to submit questions for Rosser, with 10 being chosen to ask them live during the event. Questions can be submitted to Assistant Professor of English Rachel Collins, Ph.D., at collinsr@arcadia.edu.

The event is open to the public. However, if you are not a first-year student, you must register for a ticket here:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/meet-the-author-kareem-rosser-tickets-400378933167