Today we’d like to introduce you to Myron Rolle.
Hi Myron, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’m the son of Bahamian immigrants who placed an emphasis on education, character, service, and strong faith. I played multiple sports as a young man, but eventually I emerged as the number one ranked high school football player in all of America pursuant to ESPN with 83 scholarship offers. I chose Florida State University where I was an All-American on the field and graduated magna cum laude in 2.5 years off the field. I won the Rhodes Scholarship which afforded me the opportunity to read for my masters degree in medical anthropology at Oxford University. After foregoing the NFL draft for my UK education experience, I returned to the US and was drafted in the sixth round by the Tennessee Titans in the National Football League. I played there two years and then one year with the Pittsburgh Steelers. I retired after three seasons, then entered medical school at Florida State University. I graduated medical school in 2017 and began my neurosurgical residency training at Harvard/Massachusetts General Hospital. I am currently a pediatric neurosurgeon living in Lake Nona with my wife who is a pediatric dentist and our four young children. Alongside my professional journey, I started the Myron L Rolle foundation which serves under represented populations in Orlando with a specific focus on child health equity to improve outcomes around head trauma, food security, mental health, civic engagement, education, and affordable housing. I also founded the Caribbean Neurosurgery Foundation which has impacted the 3.5 million marginalized Caribbean residents in receiving timely, accessible neurosurgical care through collaborative upscaling of workforce development, service delivery, infrastructure, and education.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Getting cut in the National Football League and having to begin my medical journey sooner than I anticipated was disappointing. Rejecting the notion that I could ONLY be an athlete and not a student-athlete was difficult. Overcoming the feeling of helplessness when I lost a pediatric patient to severe brain injury was crippling. However, thanks to a strong faith, excellent mentors, and a steadfast resiliency taught to me by my football coaches, we were able to learn from these challenging experiences and channel these moments into positive energy. Feeling the sting of life’s obstacles lets you know that your nerves are working and that you are alive. Successful people are able to feel that sting, remember that sting, and recalibrate their minds and spirit towards continuing the fulfillment of their purpose on this earth.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
My advice to young people starting out in their life journey is to make small, incremental gains every day towards being the better version of themselves. 2% at a time. The 2% way. I wrote a book on this ethos that speaks to continual, tangible growth that keeps you moving forward and prevents you from feeling overwhelmed in your journey. Feeling a sense of achievement daily activates your limbic lobe in your brain, which produces “good feeling”hormones. A nice self-pat on the back is effective encouragement. Especially amidst stressful stimuli that hits young people often. You’ve got this!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myronlrolle?igsh=MTJ5b25rcWU1bHJnag==
- Twitter: https://x.com/myronrolle?s=21&t=2RFPqmvNMutyBYdMlPMRLQ
