Roy Collins

While playing football for Yale and simultaneously managing his Type 1 diabetes, Roy Collins IV '13 B.S. found his life's calling. He would devote himself to finding new ways to approach diabetes care — ways that accounted for a person's lifestyle and habits. By the time of his graduation, he'd decided to pursue a master's degree in public health, and, now, a medical degree.

In his doctoral studies Collins is focusing on psychiatry and the role of psychosocial elements like stress and depression in managing one's diabetes.

Throughout his life's journey, Collins says, one lesson he learned as a Bulldog has particularly stuck with him — the rallying cry "Sudden Change." Players and coaches used it to describe being ready to react with decisive purpose whenever something unexpected happened — a turnover, an interception, an injured teammate.

"The lesson is you can't spend a lot of time worrying about what has happened, but you can react in an advantageous way," Collins says.