High academic achievement? Check. Integrity of character? Check. A spirit of unselfishness, respect for others, potential for leadership and physical vigor? Check, check, check and check. Florida State University student-athlete Myron Rolle is the living personification of the criteria established more than 100 years ago for the Rhodes Scholarship - one of the oldest and most prestigious awards for international study. The Rhodes Trust has named 22-year-old Rolle one of 32 U.S. Rhodes Scholars for 2009 - the first time in nearly 25 years it has awarded the scholarship to a prominent college football player.
The Rhodes is a crowning achievement for the student-athlete who aspires to both the NFL and medical school. Graduating in just two-and-a-half years with a 3.75 grade point average, Rolle completed all the necessary pre-medical requirements and earned a bachelor's degree in exercise science from Florida State in August. He is currently pursuing a master's degree in public administration.
Along the way, Rolle founded Our Way to Health, a fifth-grade curriculum that addresses diabetes and obesity for students at a charter school run by the Seminole Tribe of Florida; conducted research on the metabolic profile of stem and cancer cells; tutored at-risk eighth-graders; studied abroad; and played safety (he's one of the best in the nation) for the Florida State University football team. He also racked up numerous academic, athletic and leadership awards. Among them:
In addition, Myron has held several leadership positions since arriving on FSU's campus as a freshman in spring 2006. He currently serves as a student representative on the University Athletics Committee and the Equity and Student Athlete Welfare Committee and is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference Student Athlete Advisory Council. He previously served as vice president of the Student Athlete Advisory Council and as a member of the executive board for the Seminole Student Boosters.
Myron Rolle, who was born October 30, 1986 in Houston, TX and raised in Galloway, New Jersey, began receiving national attention while still in high school. He was rated the No. 1 high school prospect in the country by ESPN and in 2006 received the Franklin D. Watkins Memorial Trophy Award, which is awarded to the top Black high-school senior student-athlete in America. Rivals.com rated him the 12th-best player and the top athlete overall. After transferring from the Peddie School, a highly selective, coeducational prep school in Hightstown, New Jersey, Rolle played high school football at the Hun School of Princeton, where the All-American made 112 tackles his senior year including 14 for loss. In addition to football, Rolle had a 4.0 GPA. At Peddie, he played the saxophone in the school band, sang in a school play, and was the sports editor of the school newspaper.
Rolle tries to pattern himself after former Minnesota Vikings running back Robert Smith, making decisions that set him up as a well-rounded individual who isn't tied only to sports. (While attending Ohio State, Smith had told his coach he would quit football unless he could take a science lab course that conflicted with practice.) Myron is a distant cousin of Samari Rolle, who plays for the Baltimore Ravens.
At Oxford, Myron will enroll in a master's degree program in medical anthropology that examines the sociocultural aspects of medicine. After completing his studies there, Rolle hopes to play professional football - many analysts project that he will be a first round pick - before going to medical school. He would like to practice medicine in the United States as well as assist medical efforts in developing countries, especially the Bahamas, his parents' native country.
Created in 1902 through a bequest in the will of Cecil Rhodes, a British philanthropist and colonial pioneer, the Rhodes Scholarship is the oldest international study award available to American students and widely considered the most prestigious of its kind. The selection process is highly competitive with more than 1,000 nominees seeking 32 scholarships. Two scholars are chosen from each of 16 regions across the United States. The scholarships provide all expenses for up to two or three years of study at the University of Oxford in England.
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