Feb. 13, 2008

In an effort to highlight the leadership and good works of the student-athletes in the conference, the ACC SAAC began the SAAC in ACCtion initiative to provide on-line articles about the SAAC programs at the league's 12 member institutions. The goal of this initiative is to shed light on the great things our student-athletes are doing to affect significant positive change on campus and in our communities. Every two weeks, the SAAC leaders from a different school will provide a SAAC in ACCtion update on how their program is getting involved. When reading these articles, we hope that it is evident that their efforts to give back result in so much more.

"We are dedicated to excellence in the classroom and on the field, but you'll never see us slack or not work hard for a goal. We're a very hard-working, very meticulous group, and I'd like people to know that about us." --Myron Rolle
Florida State's SAAC Web Site A sophomore rover on Seminole football team, Myron Rolle is also the vice-president of Florida State's SAAC, a representative to the ACC SAAC, and a key in Florida State's on-going successes in community service. Rolle took a few minutes to chat with theACC.com about SAAC's initiatives and his experiences. What is the overall goal of Florida State's SAAC? I'd say the goal is to help our student-athletes and our entire athletic department fulfill their potential by having leaders and upstanding members of each team have input and be the voice for each athletic team, combine those ideas, and help Florida State's athletics be one of the best in the country. We have a lot of participation from every sport, which really makes it fun and productive. How is Florida State's SAAC set up? We have a president, a vice-president, and a secretary (along with) two members from each team who meet every two weeks. Committees are set up if a big event is coming up and we feel that more attention needs to be spent on that. We're a mix of both (community service and student-athlete welfare), but we're known for our community service. Can you talk about that community service focus? It's not just the community service as far as SAAC is concerned, it's the whole athletic department. We have so many student-athletes participating in outreach programs and community involvement. We won the Outreach & Community Service Award by the National Consortium of Academics and Sports two years in a row - this year and last year. It's given to the school that reaches the most kids in the community. We have volunteers all over the place, and our student-athletes really take heed to the community service aspect of being a student-athlete. Seminoles participate in Red Ribbon Week. What are the recurring programs that SAAC sponsors? We're actively involved in Relay for Life and (also) Special Olympics within the Tallahassee community. I'd say those are our bigger ones, but any time something pops up in the city of Tallahassee, we're always ready. We get involved with mentoring and tutoring for the FCAT, which is a standardized test that every high school student in Florida needs to take. We also have mentoring programs that include something called P.H.A.T. Tuesdays, which is Peers Helping Athletes Transition. It's a freshman orientation where the senior student-athletes come every Tuesday to discuss issues with the freshman relating to college life, study time, social life, things that kids need to hear when they enter college. Are there certain programs that tend to be the favorite among student-athletes to participate in? I would say the Golden 'Nole banquet. This is a time when all student-athletes can come together, dress up, be with their teams and eat a nice dinner in the stadium - we have a very nice ballroom in the stadium. We give out awards based on community service, leadership, and character. That tends to be the favorite, even with my football players - those guys don't like getting dressed up too much! - but once in awhile they do to take advantage of this opportunity. What events are planned for the current semester? We have a Culture Fest coming up in about a week. We have a lot of international students here at Florida State, so this is a time where we go to the bowling alley and have the international students bring any kind of cuisine from their native (countries), and talk about their upbringing and how they got to Florida State. It's really fun to get to know a different group of people. We're looking forward to that event. Florida State's SAAC is active in Relay for Life. Are there any particular student-athlete welfare issues that SAAC is currently focusing on? Sportsmanship is something we've talked about very much. Whenever we travel to different schools, we bring back ideas. For instance, when we played Wake Forest this year in football, we saw on their Jumbotron before the game that they had students talking about what sportsmanship means to Wake Forest athletes. They (used) an acronym (relating to sportsmanship) out of "Demon Deacon". We thought that was very nice. A lot of other student-athletes have come back to SAAC and said the same thing - that we want to incorporate something like that to tell people what Florida State represents, what we stand for, and that we honor sportsmanship. We've been working very diligently on that issue and it's been coming along pretty well. What issues do you feel SAAC has had an impact on in the past? I would say the attention to the Olympic sports. Football is my sport and I'll be honest, a lot of attention gets put on football, but because we get so much input and have such good attendance and devoted SAAC members from each sport, all the teams' needs and concerns are talked about and brought to the table. We also have a faculty representative - Dr. Joe Beckham - who comes to every meeting, so faculty is hearing as well. Our new athletic director, Randy Spetman, told us that he was going to come to every meeting. I've seen the needs and concerns of the Olympic sports - like getting their gear on time, the travel issues they may have, space in the locker and weight rooms - improve over the years I've been on SAAC. Student-athletes visit a local elementary school during Red Ribbon Week. How did you personally get involved with SAAC? I graduated high school a semester early in December 2005, and came to Florida State in the spring of 2006. John Lata (in the student services department) here must have read about me or heard about me from my recruiting trip and thought I'd be a great asset to SAAC. He told me to come to a meeting to observe and watch how it was run, and I loved it. I loved the interaction between the student-athletes, I loved the fact that it wasn't just one sport dominating, it wasn't just one person dominating. It was a collective environment and I really liked it, so I became a member (and am now) the vice-president. How do you think your time on Florida State's SAAC will help you after graduation? I think it will help me tremendously. I don't feel like I am pigeon-holed or stuck in the football locker room at all times. I know the concerns, I know the people from different sports, and I've built those relationships and that network that will last me far beyond my SAAC tenure. If there was something you'd like the public to know about Florida State's SAAC or the student-athletes, what would it be? I'd say that both Florida State's SAAC and the student-athletes are very hardworking and high-achieving. We are dedicated to excellence in the classroom and on the field, but you'll never see us slack or not work hard for a goal. We have people that have won Rhodes Scholarships, we have people that do the ACC Futures internships. We're a very hard-working, very meticulous group, and I'd like people to know that about us.