Listen up all you student athletes aspiring to become something great. If I hadn’t seen you on the field or on the track and told you to focus on your studies yet, I know your parents, counselors and coaches have.
Listen up all you student athletes aspiring to become something great. If I hadn’t seen you on the field or on the track and told you to focus on your studies yet, I know your parents, counselors and coaches have.
Everyone knows that if you want to get that college scholarship or have great opportunities in life, you have to work hard and get the grades. But if you don’t want to take my word for it, your parents or anyone else, then maybe you can learn a lesson from Myron Rolle.
The 22-year-old Florida State safety was in Alabama yesterday interviewing to become a coveted Rhodes Scholar. Instead of being with his teammates in College Park getting ready for the big Atlantic Coast Conference game against Maryland, he was interviewing to become the school’s second athlete, and third student in three years, to earn the chance to study at the University of Oxford in England.
For those of you who don’t know what being a Rhodes Scholar is, it means getting the chance to be one of the elite, intellectuals to study in the oldest international fellowship in the world. President Bill Clinton, George Stephanopoulis, former senator J. William Fulbright — who later established the international studies fellowship of Fulbright Scholars — were all Rhodes Scholars.
Only 32 students in the world are selected, regardless of field of interest. According to the Rhodes Web site, the committees are dedicated to seeking “excellence in qualities of mind and in qualities of person which, in combination, offer the promise of effective service to the world decades ahead.” This is a big deal.
If that doesn’t inspire you to do well yet, know that Rolle already has a degree in exercise science, is working on his master’s in public administration, has a 3.75 grade point average and aspires to be a neurosurgeon. Now, I don’t know what his class schedule consists of, but I think I can safely say he’s not taking ballroom dancing. (I’m talking to you — Matt Leinart.)
Here’s extra motivation for you: the NCAA will support you. The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a big supporter of academics and to prove it, they adjusted the kickoff time from 6 p.m. EST to 7:45 p.m., so Rolle could make the game. And to make sure he does, they’ve given him access to a private jet that would directly take him from Alabama to Maryland.
What did FSU head coach Bobby Bowden think of all this?
“It’s a no-brainer,” Bowden told the Associated Press last week. “I know academics comes first. I really don’t know of anything higher than to have a player who is a recipient of a Rhodes scholarship.”
Brent Kallestad of the AP wrote that Rolle dreamed of becoming a Rhodes Scholar since shot put champion Garrett Johnson, one of Rolle’s mentors, became one. He wrote a 1,000-word personal statement that he revised “about 17 or 18 times” and provided letters of recommendation from professors at Florida State and people in the community who have known him.
So kids, learn a lesson from Rolle. Working hard, making the grades and showing dedication to something you’re passionate about pays off. Who knows? While at Oxford, he may be inspired by something else and become the next president of the United States.
No matter how things turn out for Rolle, I’m sure he’ll be just fine.
• Lanaly Cabalo, sports editor, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 237) or lcabalo@kauaipubco.com
