How the engine compounds
Foundation
Degrees, athletics, research.
Athletics
National NIL advocateTwo-sport Stanford athlete. Football and track & field.
MS&E
Senior Project awardUndergraduate degree. Featured 25th Anniversary alumnus.
Communication
Graduate degree. Recent alumni panelist and student mentor.
VHIL
Graduate research in the Virtual Human Interaction Lab.
Defining moments
Selected to meet President Obama
White House Summit on Cybersecurity & Consumer Protection · Stanford · February 2015
1 of 10 Stanford students selected for a private conversation with President Barack Obama and senior White House officials following the White House Cybersecurity Summit at Stanford.
- ·The summit convened senior leaders across government, business, technology, and academia at Stanford to discuss cybersecurity and consumer protection.
- ·10 Stanford students were selected for a private discussion with senior White House officials. We did not know until we were in the room that President Obama would ultimately join us.
- ·The conversation included President Obama alongside Valerie Jarrett, Susan Rice, and Lisa Monaco, and ranged across cybersecurity, national security, technology policy, public service, Syria, and other global issues.
- ·At the time I was a two-sport Stanford student-athlete (football and track & field) majoring in Management Science & Engineering, drawn to the management and risk-mitigation side of cybersecurity and national security.
- ·During the meeting I thanked President Obama for recognizing Stanford football in his keynote. Afterward he asked about my plans for the following year, my fifth season with Stanford football, and my graduate studies, and we spoke about the upcoming season.
- ·A formative early exposure to the intersection of technology, cybersecurity, risk, and public policy, and to how consequential conversations actually get held.
From Stanford athlete to national advocate
Stanford · Pac-12 · Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics
Represented student-athletes at Stanford, chaired Pac-12 student-athlete leadership, and advocated nationally in Washington, D.C. for modernizing NCAA amateurism rules and expanded student-athlete rights, including NIL, years before the policy became reality.
- ·Stanford: elected to the Student-Athlete Leadership Committee, representing teammates across the athletics program.
- ·Pac-12: chaired the conference's student-athlete leadership group across all Pac-12 institutions.
- ·National: represented student-athletes in Washington, D.C. through the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, including conversations on modernizing NCAA amateurism policy and expanding student-athlete rights.
- ·One of the issues I advocated for was the right of student-athletes to benefit economically from their own Name, Image and Likeness. Years later, when NIL rights became reality, I reflected on having participated in that fight years earlier.
- ·The pattern that started here is the same one that continues today: represent people, understand the system, advocate for change, help move the system forward.
“Today marks a day that I fought for 5 years ago, when representing student athletes nationwide at the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics Conference revolving around modernizing the NCAA's amateurism policy.”
Rollins Stallworth III, on the day NIL became reality
- Two-sport student-athlete2011–2015
Football and track & field. Walk-on to scholarship. Three Pac-12 titles.
Two Division I sports at Stanford: football, where I went walk-on to full scholarship across three Pac-12 championships and three Rose Bowls, and track & field, where I competed for Stanford including at the Pac-12 Championships. Trust built in weight rooms, road trips, and locker rooms. Teammate relationships that still return the call today. Also elected to represent teammates: Stanford's Student-Athlete Leadership Committee, chair of the Pac-12 student-athlete leadership group, and student-athlete voice at the Knight Commission in Washington, D.C.
- Graduate researcher & M.A. student2015–2018
MS&E to Communication to VHIL.
Two degrees, one research lab. Faculty, researcher, and cross-department relationships that go beyond any single classroom. Also selected as 1 of 10 Stanford students for a private conversation with President Obama after the White House Cybersecurity Summit at Stanford, a formative early exposure to technology, risk, and public policy at the highest level.
Featured alumnus, Management Science & Engineering
MS&E 25th Anniversary alumni spotlight
Third-party recognition of the arc from Stanford student-athlete to venture investor and community builder. The receipt is the recognition. The story is sustained participation.
MS&E Senior Project · Award Winner
Stanford MS&E Faculty · June 2015
Built a data-driven customer acquisition strategy for Sterling CNG, an energy startup, using customer research, probabilistic modeling, and 10-year unit economics to identify a strategy projected to increase annual profit 19×.
- ·Conducted internal stakeholder interviews and customer discovery across 16 prospective companies
- ·Quantified each prospective customer's likelihood of adopting Sterling CNG
- ·Used maximum-likelihood estimates and comparable-company characteristics to construct a larger analytical sample
- ·Segmented and identified the highest-potential customer profiles
- ·Compared Sterling's existing sales strategy against a more targeted customer-acquisition model
- ·Incorporated customer acquisition costs, sales-management costs, adoption assumptions, and 10-year customer NPV
- ·Developed a new go-to-market strategy focused on customers with the strongest economic, political, tax, and environmental incentives to adopt CNG
- ·Model projected the recommended strategy could increase annual profit by a factor of 19 versus the existing approach
Faculty testimonial, MS&E / STVP
Chuck Eesley, Professor of MS&E; Co-Director, International Entrepreneurship, STVP
“Rollins is truly inspiring. I had him in my technology entrepreneurship class (E145) and he's kept in touch over the years, coming back repeatedly as a guest lecturer and mentor, always inspiring students with his drive, work ethic, and desire to give back.”
“Rollins is truly inspiring! I was lucky to have him in my technology entrepreneurship class (E145) at Stanford many years ago and he's kept in touch over the years since. I've also had him into my class repeatedly as a guest lecturer and mentor as he's a phenomenal public speaker and always inspires the students in my classes with his incredible drive, work ethic and desire to give back to the community.”
Chuck Eesley, Professor of Management Science & Engineering, Stanford; Co-Director for International Entrepreneurship, STVP
Third-party evidence of the student → alum → recurring guest lecturer → mentor arc.
Alumni panelist, Management Science & Engineering
MS&E alumni leadership panel, nonprofit and civic board service
“Stanford MS&E on the session: "So much wisdom and energy in one session!" The department flagged growing student interest in using an MS&E education "for good" and convened three alumni panelists to discuss nonprofit and civic board leadership.”
“Leadership is about showing up for something bigger than yourself.”
Rollins Stallworth III, Stanford MS&E alumni leadership panel
Invited back by Stanford MS&E as one of three alumni to speak with current students on nonprofit and civic board service: why to serve, how to select the right organizations, how to get involved, and what meaningful board participation actually requires. The MS&E student, years later, invited back to help the next cohort think about leadership and impact.
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