If you had access to social media in 2019, there’s a good chance you recognize the name “Sam Cerio.” The former Auburn gymnast is widely known by gym fans and laymen alike because of the horrific injury she suffered during her floor routine at the 2019 Baton Rouge regional championships, which is a genuine shame because there are so many other remarkable and inspiring facets to her story. In addition to being a two-time individual qualifier to the NCAA national championships on bars, Cerio was the 2019 SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year, served as president of the Auburn Student-Athlete Advisory Council and is now a literal rocket scientist.
Prior to signing with Auburn, Cerio had a successful level 10 career, qualifying to nationals four times and winning a national title on bars her senior season. Even as one of the top recruits in her cohort, she knew the clock was ticking on her time as a gymnast. She was intent on joining a program that would prepare her for life after gymnastics and, more specifically, allow her to pursue her passion for science.
“There were some coaches or teams that were like, ‘Hey, maybe you shouldn’t do [engineering] because we understand that it is a lot of work and can be a lot of extra stress,” Cerio recalls. “If you really want to do it, you can of course, but we don’t want to push you to where you aren’t able to perform academically or athletically.’”
Cerio is quick to emphasize that she holds no ill will towards those programs and that their hesitance was understandable. Rather, it underscored in her mind the “different connection and understanding” she felt with the Auburn staff and team, which included aerospace engineering major Kullen Hlawek and Kelsey Kopec, a mechanical engineering major.
“Auburn told me, ‘If you want to do [aerospace engineering], we will push you, we will help support you, and we will make sure you have all the opportunities to succeed,’” said Cerio. “Also, it was really cool because I was able to see [Hlawek’s and Kopec’s] experiences and know this is actually a thing that can happen while you’re doing sports, and particularly while you’re doing gymnastics.”
Her course set, Cerio understood that balance—literally and metaphorically—would be key to her collegiate success.
“Anytime that I wasn’t in physical therapy, practice, conditioning or anything like that, I made sure to make time to be with my classmates, to interact with them and just be able to collaborate with them and figure out how our classes were working,” she said.
Cerio’s college experiences further honed her naturally sharp time management skills, smoothing the transition into her thriving career as a structural analysis engineer with the prestigious Boeing Company.
“Being disciplined, being motivated, and just being able to try and learn on the go are things that I’ve taken from my sport and been able to translate into my work,” said Cerio. “There’s always something to keep you on your toes, and you have to take things you learned in the classroom or learned in the gym and be able to use that to work through those things.”
It’s also worth highlighting the inherent challenges of coming from a female sport to a predominately male industry. As demonstrated in her recruiting experience, representation matters, and Cerio relishes the opportunity to help change the status quo.
“It’s great because you can influence other people—it doesn’t have to just be girls, but boys or other people growing up, even just people in general—to pursue what they want and be a part of an occupation where you’re not the majority. You can be included and welcomed, and you can make a difference.”
She notes that these changes are happening gradually, but things are changing, as historically male-dominated industries like engineering can no longer deny the immense value of bringing “new minds” with diverse experiences, perspectives, and solutions to the table.
“Companies, not just individual people, are more open now to knowing that there are different kinds of people that want to be in these specific fields,” Cerio said. “I think it’s really cool to see that they’re open to seeing our suggestions, getting our information, and depending on us for stuff like specific designs or different strategies.”
Cerio believes that for all its difficulties, the serpentine path from SEC gymnast to Boeing engineer “has definitely been worth it,” and hopes her journey can serve as a guide to others, particularly for future gymnasts who are interested in a career in STEM.
“I was very lucky to have a supportive family that pushed me towards both athletics and into my academic career, by my main motivation was wanting to do it for myself. Especially as a female in STEM, you have a lot of people telling you that you can’t do it,'” she said. “I had a lot of people growing up—especially after I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do in life, while I was being recruited and then while I was in college—that just didn’t think I was going to make it as an engineer and as a gymnast within an SEC college, so part of my motivation was just telling those naysayers I can do what I want when I put my mind to it.”
That grit and determination to prove the naysayers wrong also allowed Cerio to defy expectations in the wake of her notorious accident.
“I pushed really hard during my recovery to try to make sure that I could get back to being able to do everyday things and start running and jogging. Not that I’m a big runner or jogger, but it was something I wanted to make sure I had the capacity to do if I wanted to without feeling hurt or having anything really wrong with my lower body.”
Though she has dabbled occasionally at open gym sessions since her recovery, Cerio mostly sticks to walking and jogging with her beloved golden retriever Mandi on their small island community in Florida. However, she does enjoy following NCAA gymnastics as a whole and her Auburn Tigers in particular.
“It’s been incredible getting to see the team improve and continue to step up every single year and just see what they continue to build on. Last season was one of those fairy tale seasons that you hear about,” she said. “It was absolutely amazing to be able to support them and…understand where they’re coming from. I know the hard work that gets put into this.”
Cerio is quick to praise the the current Auburn gymnasts as exceptional and inspirational but is decidedly less effusive when discussing herself. To be clear, there’s no false modesty or attempt to downplay either her intelligence or achievements, but she is remarkably humble.
“It’s so weird to me feeling and knowing and hearing that [I’m a positive role model], especially for a lot of girls in gymnastics, because I feel like it wasn’t that long ago when I was looking up to other gymnasts and seeing what they were accomplishing in their lives. I feel so honored to be a part of this select group of women.”
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Article by Claire Billman
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