TRANSFER TRIATHLON
Kemah Siverand discusses his unique academic path to OSU
STILL WATER—In the spring of 2018, K em ah Siverand had a decision to make.
He had already determined he wanted to transfer out of Texas A&M following his redshirt sophomore year, and he was looking at potential landing spots, eventually choosing Oklahoma State.
But that wasn't the biggest decision he had to make.
After the spring semester, Siverand was going to be 25 hours away from graduating.
He could transfer, sit out a year, and play his final season at his new destination in the fall of 2019.
Or he could complete the academic equivalent of an Ironman triathlon: 25 credit hours in one summer.
Siverand chose the Ironman route. First, he had to get special permission from the Texas A&M registrar to take more than the allowed 17 hours in the summer semester. They upped the limit to 19 for him, then he added two courses from other schools to get to his 25 hours with a combination of in-class and online courses.
He ultimately walked away with a degree in university studies with a concentration in business, plus minors in agricultural leadership and sport management.
S iver and played in all 13 games for the Cowboys last season, recording 10 tackles and a pass break up as a backup corner back. He recently spoke to the media for the first time since arriving at OSU a year ago, discussing his academic journey and the season ahead:
Q: What was the experience like taking 25 hours of classes in one summer?
A: “To get my mind prepared to take 25 hours was really tough, and then to actually do it was even tougher. Going into it, I talked to my mom and I told her exactly what I want to do. I'd had a lot of coaching changes and I wanted to find a new home to play football. Taking all those classes, coupled with online classes, I had to really buckle down and be serious, because you can fall off really fast taking that many hours. Let alone, I'm trying to prepare for football and be ready for fall camp, so that was tough.”
How much t i me c oul d you devote to actually devote staying in football shape?
“Trying to stay in shape, I really couldn't focus on that,
OKLAHOMA STATE AT OREGON STATE
When: 9:30 p.m., Friday, Aug. 30 Where: Reser Stadium, Corvallis TV: FS1 because at that time, academics was way more important. Wit h o u t g r a d u a t i n g , h o w could I get here? I took tutor sessions at night f or about two or three hours, and that was probably the hardest part, because I didn't understand finance as well as the other students that were taking that class. That took a toll on me, but I stuck with it and wound up passing.”
What did that experience do for you?
“It opened my eyes up for me to understand that I could do whatever I really set my mind to. If I understand that things are not gonna be easy all the time — you're gonna have to get serious at some point in your life — if you really want to get something done, you gotta really pursue it. When I finally accomplished it, I realized I can accomplish a lot of different things if I keep my mind focused on it.”
On the field, what do you want to improve on heading into your senior season?
“I think I can improve a lot on not panicking when the ball's in the air. Any DB can attest that when the ball's in the air, you never know if the receiver's gonna come down with i t . You got r e c e i ver s that make crazy plays on the ball. As a DB, you gotta stay locked in on your man. That's something I had trouble with changing over to this position two years ago from receiver. Being a receiver, I understood that I knew where the ball was and I could make plays on DBs real easily. Now, on the other side of it, I know as long as I stay calm, I can still make a play on the ball.”