Myron Rolle, Rhodes Scholar

admin — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:40:51 +0000

A few weeks ago, a story came out (I read it in The Sporting News) that Florida State safety Myron Rolle was nominated for a Rhodes scholarship. The most newsworthy point of the story was that Rolle was choosing to miss Florida State’s football game at Maryland on November 22, the same day as his interview for the scholarship in Alabama. In the end, Rolle finished the interview, caught a private plane to the game in time to get on the field by the second quarter, and Florida State dominated the meaningless game.

More importantly, Myron Rolle was awarded the Rhodes scholarship. If you are like me, you’ve heard the term “Rhodes Scholar” a million times but never really knew what it meant other than the person was really smart. Ignorance be gone!

The Rhodes Trust, named after Cecil Rhodes, set up a fellowship in the early 20th century in which the trustees awarded scholarships to students from other universities the right to study their craft at Oxford University (England) for a two or three years (generally speaking). Currently, 32 American Rhodes Scholars are selected every year. The selection committee chooses applicants from all fields of study and focuses on the individual rather than just the accomplishments of the individual (hence the necessary interview process). The scholarship winners receive free tuition and what is believed to be generous living expenses during the period of the scholarship.

Read on:

RhodesScholar.org

The Rhodes Trust

NY Times article about Myron Rolle

Dinner Topics » Myron Rolle

Myron Rolle, Rhodes Scholar