Many boys fantasize about becoming stars on the football field or basketball court when they grow up and earning millions of dollars in endorsement deals.
Myron Rolle had a different dream.
“When I was younger, I’d get straight A’s in school and my parents would get me two pizza pies from my favorite Italian restaurant in New Jersey,” says Rolle, junior safety for the Florida State University Seminoles and recently named Rhodes Scholar.
“If I scored a touchdown or scored 20 points in a basketball game, hit two runs in baseball, they’d give me a pat on the back and say, ‘Good job,’” Rolle recalls of his childhood. “The reward was different. At that point, I realized how significant it was for me to do well in school and how much it meant to them.”
It’s bowl season in college football and FSU triumphed over the University of Wisconsin 42-13 in the Champs Sports Bowl on Dec. 27. It was the final college game for Rolle. But he’s not leaving to join the National Football League; Rolle, instead, is headed to Oxford.
The 22-year-old, who has already completed a bachelor’s degree in exercise science with a concentration in pre-med in just two-and-a-half years, is one of 32 U.S. students who have been awarded an all-expense paid scholarship for up to three years of study at Oxford University in England.
While he still fancies life as a professional football player (there is a slight chance Rolle may enter the NFL draft), Rolle says his long-term goal is to attend medical school and ultimately set up a clinic in the Bahamas. At Oxford, he will pursue a degree in medical anthropology.
“This degree looks at global issues of health care in medicine, especially in impoverished or third world countries.
“I’ve worked very hard my entire life — putting education first,” says Rolle, an aspiring neurosurgeon. “Obviously, trying to do my best in sports as well, but understanding what my priorities are and where I want my life to go. I’ve tried to set the bar very high for myself. I’m humble enough to recognize that the Lord has blessed me with some great abilities, great parents and family and people around me that have supported me, prayed for me and helped me get to where I am today.”
