Member Profile: Cory

Cory calling out instructions as steer

by Marla Khan-Schwartz

Dragon Diva Cory Graham was so motivated to get on with life after breast cancer treatment, it was a mere day after completing radiation that she stepped onto a dragon boat for the first time. It didn't matter that she felt physically compromised from the months of treatments that she had already conquered. This was a new battle, Cory knew from years of athleticism, that she was determined to win.

“I was walking down the dock and I was shaky,” Cory reflected. “I was pretty weak and [co-founder] Mary [Skrypek] said, “I don't know, Cory, if you should get on.” "I'm getting on that boat,” I said.

That day, Cory did. Twenty-one years later, she’s still on the boat. 

Cory found out about dragon boat racing during a physical therapy session while she was actively in breast cancer treatment. Her practitioner, Mary Skrypek, chatted with her during the session, and after Cory mentioned her love of sports and her experiences participating, Mary threw out an idea. 

“We're going to start a dragon boat team,” Skrypek mentioned. “Would you like to help?” 

Even though Cory had just started her treatment, she agreed and became one of the original co-founders of the Dragon Divas. In 2005, a small group of paddlers began training with another founder, Ron Soppleland, who coached the crew until its first festival in 2007. 

“I bet we probably came in last or close to it,” Cory said. “We won the Spirit Award.”

But winning a medal wasn’t what Cory or the others during that time came to the festival expecting. Each had already endured a disease that left uncertainty about future aspirations, and the sentiment instead reflected something that lives on with the Dragon Divas today: an attitude of gratitude. 

“I got my life back, Cory said. “What a blessing, and what an incredible thing for people to be so sick and then come to this [festival] and compete in their community. What a great thing.”

It was four years later when the Dragon Divas won their first medal, but even then, it wasn’t about the hardware. 

“We understood without even talking about it, what we had been through [cancer],” Cory explains. “This is a sisterhood that truly developed together. We were just happy to be alive and to be out on the water. It was so beautiful.”

Cory’s love for dragon boating intensified. She loved being on the water so much, she became a steer after 12 years of paddling. During the twenty-one years Cory has been a member of the Dragon Divas, she’s done everything from recruitment, to fundraising, to attending multiple international, local, and national festivals, steered and paddled for other dragon boat teams, and has become a go-to mentor and subject matter expert for the team.  

In 2025, Cory helped steer and coach a Twin Cities youth dragon boat team with an incredible silver lining – her grandson Gabriel paddled with the team. After weeks of practice, the group participated at its first festival in Starbuck, Minnesota, winning gold. 

Winning gold alongside her grandson fuels Cory’s drive not only to honor the mission of her beloved Dragon Divas, but also to open doors for others in the community to learn and participate in a sport that is part of her survival. 

“What I want for me is that the mission is fulfilled for others,” Cory said. “I want to be sure the Dragon Divas as an organization is well-positioned for the future when I'm gone because it meant so much to my family, to me, and to my friends.”

As a founder, paddler, steer, and 21 year’s worth of time under her dragon boat belt, Cory has already built a strong legacy and hopes that her legacy inspires others to take a chance on a different way to survive and feel the community that dragon boating exudes.

“Because I’ve had this experience, and I know what it did for me, I want women who haven't had that experience to have it and to be part of a team,” Cory said. “We are all connected and there's nothing like being in a dragon boat that shows that connectedness and that oneness.”

Cory is a participant in the upcoming 2026 International Breast Cancer Paddler Commission’s Participatory Dragon Boat Festival in Aix-les-Bains, France. She will paddle with the Dragon Divas and race alongside 4,500 other breast cancer survivors who represent 25 countries worldwide. 

One heart. One beat. One boat.