When Sixth Former Riyadh Rolls quit football, he was devastated. It was the sport that he dedicated countless hours to, while also balancing other disciplines such as photography and theater.
“The story I tell people is that I got a concussion, and my doctor told me to stop playing. In reality, I had gotten four concussions,” Rolls said. “One day I went into [the weight room], and I was trying to rehab. I had just gotten cleared to go lift by my doctor, and when I went to deadlift, I almost passed out and fell over. At that point, I knew that it was over. I was not going to be that same person I was before, and it was hard to accept that.”
Although it seemed like a dark time in his life, quitting football kindled reflection. It made him realize that ever since his Third Form year, he had still been “figuring things out,” and he still had a long way to go.
Like many other students, at the end of his Form II year, Rolls was on “an education high.”
“I thought I was going to have a 4.0, the highest SAT score, apply to all these different schools, and all of that stuff. Now, I do not have a 4.0, I did not get the highest SAT score, and a lot of the schools I said I was going to apply to, I did not apply to at all.”
Instead, Rolls tried other activities, like photography and auditioning for the musical.
“I had always been around cameras. There was a lot going on [in] my freshman year, but I was bored and needed to find something fun to do. When the time came, I took my chance to pick up a camera. Ever since then, I’ve been going out and taking photos.”
“Having real success at Haverford is not about what you do after Haverford, but more about what you do while you are here.” Riyadh Rolls ’26
For Rolls, both theater and photography have become “interwoven,” and he attributes them to how he has progressed.
“My idea of success has changed from being the smartest kid or having the best grades, to just focusing on being yourself and growing as a person. For instance, I never saw myself doing photography in college, but now, it is my greatest strength,” Rolls said.
Rolls believes that students should pursue their interests and not conform to societal expectations.
“A lot of kids think that: ‘If I go to Haverford, I have to go into finance, business, or private equity,’ and things like that. I would say that having real success at Haverford is not about what you do after Haverford, but more about what you do while you are here,” Rolls said. “What many people don’t realize is that the more they put themselves into Haverford, the more they are going to get out of it.”
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