From N.F.L Safety to Neurosurgeon

It's never too late to pivot

By Elena Bergeron

Assistant Sports Editor, New York Times

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After failing to make the roster and being released from the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2011, Myron Rolle fell into a rut. When being reminded of his dream of playing football and moving on to becoming a neurosurgeon, he decided to make that second dream a reality.

Rolle received "Gifted Hands," Dr. Ben Carson's 1990 memoir that described his journey as a kid in the inner-city with bad grades to the position of directing pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University Hospital.

After having a disappointing NFL career and not playing in any regular-season games, Rolle went back home where his mother shook him out of his funk.

Rolle had written his two goals in a notebook when he was in grade school. 1. becoming a professional football player and 2. becoming a neurosurgeon. "She looked me straight in the eyes and pointed at the first one... She said, 'This one's done.' And she looked at the second one and said, 'Now, we need to do this."

He described that push from his mother as just what he needed to make both dreams a reality. Dr. Rolle has completed his sixth year of his neuroscience residency at Harvard Medical School, as a resident at the Massachusetts General Hospital.