'Shawn's Boat' Makes Maiden Voyage

DANVILLE, CA — UC Berkeley’s Class of 2004 rowing team had a bittersweet reunion March 25. The team gathered for the first time since graduating at the Briones Reservoir near Orinda to launch Shawn’s Boat, a racing shell named in honor of their former teammate Shawn O’Donnell, who was killed last July while riding her bike in Washington, D.C.

Shortly after the accident, her old teammates quickly mobilized to fundraise for a racing shell in her honor, a high honor in the world of rowing. The group was able to raise over $56,000, and on March 25, the teammates gathered with Shawn’s friends and family to watch the current Cal rowing team take the shell on its maiden voyage.

"Seeing friends, family, community members, and Cal rowers come together to make Shawn's boat a reality has been moving beyond words,” Andrea Sanders, a teammate who helped organize the fundraiser, told Patch in an email. “It has provided a glimmer of hope in the wake of such a tragic event and is living proof that Shawn's spirit not only continues to live on but spread positivity in this world."

“We are so thankful to Shawn’s family, friends, community and the Cal community for fully championing our fundraising effort to raise over $56,000 for the women’s team to purchase this boat as a way to honor Shawn’s legacy as well as give back to the rowing program that brought us all together,” added Anita Sarrett, another teammate. “It has been incredibly meaningful to be reunited with our teammates to make sure Shawn’s life continues to be celebrated.”

O’Donnell, 40, grew up in Danville and graduated from UC Berkeley. In 2022, she was a foreign service officer working for the State Department, and had previously worked for the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. She had recently celebrated her 40th birthday by hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa.