AUBURN, Ala. – Four months ago, it looked as if nothing could slow down Auburn gymnast Samantha Cerio. The senior was on track to graduate in May. She was getting married in June. She already had a job lined up with Boeing. And she and her teammates were gearing up for a postseason run, beginning with the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional.
When asked about legacy then, Cerio simply wanted to make a positive impact on other people's lives. She wanted to change the stereotypes of how student-athletes are viewed.
"I just want to be able to show people that student-athletes are able to do more things than just look at themselves and focus on their sports," Cerio said. "They're able to focus on things like school. They're able to focus on their community and how they treat people and what they do around them and being self-aware that what they do impacts other people."
Little did Cerio know at the time that the legacy she would leave at Auburn would impact people all over the world thanks to a horrific injury at her next meet, the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional. The senior landed awkwardly on one of her passes and dislocated both of her knees. Video of the incident would go viral, and within days she was known internationally.
It wasn't until Cerio arrived back in Auburn a week later, not able to put any weight on either leg, that she thought, 'How am I going to walk across the stage at graduation in a month? Better yet, how am I am going to walk down the aisle at my wedding in two months?'
Undeterred, those two milestones became the motivation during Cerio's rehab.
"Having those two goals really helped me in my recovery process because I knew that I couldn't get lazy," she said. "I knew that I couldn't take a day off my rehab. I knew that I had to do it every day and I had to work hard to make sure that I was strong enough to do both of those things."
On May 4, less than a month after her injury, Cerio sat in her wheelchair at Auburn Arena with her fellow engineering students anxiously waiting to graduate. When it came time for her row to go, she rolled herself to the front where she got out and, with the help of crutches, walked across to receive her diploma. It was all she could to do to hold back tears.
Then 28 days later, less than two months after the injury, Cerio walked down the aisle at her wedding without the help of any crutches. The only support she needed was a small brace on each leg that weren't even visible under her wedding dress.
"It was one of the greatest feelings that I have ever felt," she said. "And being able to see Trey at the end of the aisle was just so emotional. There was so much joy in those moments."
The injury was never going to define Cerio. She still walked at graduation. She still walked at her wedding. She's currently living in Charleston where she already started her job with Boeing. It was always going to be about how she responded to the injury.
As for legacy, her answer isn't all that different than it was before the injury.
"I think I'd like to be remembered for just having passion," Cerio said. "Having passion for the goals that I've set for myself. Having passion for the people around me, for community service, for being able to help everyone. Just having passion with everything I do because, especially dealing with this injury, my goals were something so personal to me that I don't think I could have succeeded without having a very strong feeling about them and wanting them so badly.
"I feel like that's how my career at Auburn has been. I've wanted so badly to do good for the team and be able to contribute to the team and see the team succeed.
"That's something that I want to remembered for. The passion that I have for the team to succeed, for people to succeed, for myself to be able to reach goals that I want to reach."