Hailing from the tropical city of Nassau in the Bahamas, Meshach Roberts ’19 continues to take every opportunity to make his dreams come true. While at Beloit, he served as the well-liked swimming and diving team captain during his sophomore, junior, and senior years. He also served two years on the Student Athletic Advisory Committee and is the proud founder of the college’s African Caribbean Society.

While he was busy double majoring in molecular, cellular, and integrative biology and Spanish, Meshach found time to study abroad (again) in Quito, Ecuador, about which he says: “Speaking to [Ecuadorian] coaches about the struggles that they face in swimming in Ecuador helped me notice similarities and differences between USA swimming, Bahamas Aquatics, and the Ecuadorian swimming federation. It helped me become a better recruiter at the college level.”

Before graduating, Meshach also coached 12- to 19-year-olds in Beloit through workout routines that helped them grow stronger and more confident in their swimming abilities. This love of coaching carried over to Carroll University, where he is currently completing a master’s degree in sports physiology and performance coaching and working as a graduate assistant coach of the swimming and diving team. Once again, designing workout routines that develop his swimmers’ stroke technique, power, and speed as well as their strength and conditioning, Meshach coaches the whole person and not just the athlete to create both fast swimmers and better people. Not surprisingly, he doesn’t hesitate to mix life lessons with coaching and to highlight that where athletes are from, what they bring to the table, and what their previous experiences are all matter.

After one additional stint this summer as an intern at NX Level Sports Performance in (Waukesha) Wisconsin, which is giving him the unique opportunity to learn from top-notch coaches and meet Division 1 and NFL athletes, Meshach will move to Dallas, Texas, in August to begin a doctoral program in physical therapy at Texas Woman’s University. He observes, “I have a passion for coaching, and while I will not be doing so in PT school, I am sure that I will be back on the deck or on a gym floor soon!”