By Andrew Priolo ‘ 22

In late January, Chaminade High School senior Noah Marotta ‘22 launched his One Million Meters Moved challenge. Knowing that more than 650,000 Americans die every year from heart disease (the leading cause of death in the United States), Marotta aspired to bring awareness to healthy habits and the importance of exercise. He resolved to raise $10,000 for the American Heart Association by encouraging friends, family, and classmates to donate as they logged meters running, walking, and rowing throughout February.

Marotta’s foremost motivation in this endeavor was the experiences of his two grandfathers: within three years of each other, they both underwent heart surgery. After witnessing their various health concerns, Marotta came to understand the importance of healthy habits and practices.

Marotta’s time at Chaminade further solidified his commitment to healthy living. He fell in love with rowing during freshman tryouts and has been a member of the Chaminade crew team ever since.

Four years later, Marotta has dedicated countless hours to not only improving his own workout habits, but also those of his teammates. He knows that it is only through their collective strength that the crew team can attain success.

The idea for One Million Meters came from Marotta’s desire to make a difference in the world; through his efforts, he has done exactly that. “I knew I’d be moving a lot this February because of crew workouts,” Marotta by Andrew Priolo ‘22 explained, “and I asked myself: ‘How can I turn my meters into something good?’ I wondered how I could get people moving, active, and donating to the American Heart Association. So I put it all together and made One Million Me-

ters. It has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”

Marotta urged the challenge participants to send videos of themselves exercising so that they could contribute to the goal and motivate one another. February is Heart Awareness and Heart Health Month, so Marotta saw no better time to bring attention to the topic.

Over the course of the month, Marotta raised $10,260 through the generous contributions of 100 donors and attained a grand total of 12,243,178 “meters moved”—more than twelve times his original goal. Among the top movers were Chaminade President Bro. Thomas Cleary, S.M. ‘81, the Purdue University Novice Men’s Rowing Team, Spy Coast Rowing, and the Knox School Rowing Team.

Marotta is grateful for each and every mover who contributed, saying, “I’m so glad that I could spread awareness about such an important cause. I couldn’t have done it without all those who supported me, donated, and moved meters. Words don’t come close to expressing my gratitude.”

By inspiring others to adopt healthy heart habits and raising money to fund heart disease research and treatments, Marotta’s contributions proved much greater than he could have imagined. And not only is the Chaminade community in awe of his accomplishment, but both of his grandfathers could not be more proud of him. His actions have demonstrated the power of collective action, and Marotta has undoubtedly made a positive impact on the Chaminade community and beyond.