For Roger Mills’89, the journey from being a kid from Trinidad to award-winning sports reporter for the St. Petersburg Times (one of the largest newspapers in Florida) was exactly 3,780 kilometers long.
Roger’s mother she believed her son needed a new sense of focus and Grammar was the place for that new start. As alone as he felt in Halifax– this Caribbean teenager felt welcomed at Grammar, particularly with the help of Andrew Oland'85 who treated him like a long-time classmate.
His mother’s instincts proved to be right on the mark. Grammar gave Roger the chance to focus on learning and finding his passion. “Honestly, I would never have realized my potential had I not found a home for those two years on Atlantic Street. My love for writing and reading was part of my DNA and it blossomed thanks to my time at the Grammar and then at Dalhousie,” he said.
After graduating from Grammar, Roger completed a degree in English Honours from Dalhousie University. He then went on to begin what would be a successful career in sports journalism, covering Super Bowls, NBA Finals, and World Cup Matches. Roger has earned a number of awards for investigative and feature journalism and is now the CEO of First Down Imaging Inc., a consultancy firm that provides media training for professional athletes in Tampa Bay.
Roger is also giving back to his community as the Language Arts teacher at Alonso High School in Tampa, Florida and coaching the Alonso Ravens, one of the most prominent Track and Field teams in Tampa Bay.