Track Record: CEAT alumna chases Olympic dream after graduating with two majors, 4.0 GPA

Track Record: CEAT alumna chases Olympic dream after graduating with two majors, 4.0 GPA

Thursday, October 2, 2025

Media Contact: Kristi Wheeler | CEAT, Marketing and Communications Manager | 405-744-583 | [email protected]

College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology graduates make a profound impact on the world.

From leading industry, driving innovation and engineering solutions to the world's problems, CEAT alumni always make their mark.

One alumna looks to do just that at the most prestigious sporting event in the world, the 2028 Olympics.

Sivan Auerbach, a 2025 graduate from the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, who hails from Ein Ayala, Israel, earned multiple undergraduate degrees while competing as a track and field athlete.

She pursued two majors, computer engineering and computer science, as well as two minors in physics and mathematics, finishing with a 4.0 grade point average.

Her athletic accolades include being a two-time Big 12 Indoor Champion in the 1,000 meters and a multi-time Big 12 and NCAA All-American academically and athletically.

She received the 2023 and 2024 Cross Country Elite 90 award, given to the student-athlete at national championships with the highest cumulative GPA - one of two Oklahoma State University athletes to accomplish this feat twice.

In addition, she was named the Big 12 Women's Scholarship Athlete of the Year in December 2024 and OSU's Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year in April 2025.

She was named the 2026 Female College Athlete of the year by the Jewish Sports Heritage Association. In July 2025, she was named a second team Academic All-American by the College Sports Communicators.

Auerbach started running competitively in fifth grade, showing talent early on. She has already represented Israel in the Youth Olympic Games and Junior European Championships.

Sivan Auerbach excelled in the classroom and on the track. After graduating with a double major in CS and CpE, she seeks to become Israel's first Olympian competing in the 1,500 meters race.

Her athletic achievements also include winning a national championship in Israel in the 1,500 meters at the 2022 Israeli National Championships, a silver medal at the 2023 Balkan Championships in the 1,500 meters and winning another national title at the 2024 Israeli National Championships.

She is the Israeli female record holder for best time in the indoor and outdoor mile, indoor and outdoor 1,000 meters, indoor 800 meters and outdoor 1,500 meters.

"I had really high goals and aspirations from Israel to represent my country in the Olympics and European championships, because we haven't had any representatives in my events, ever," Auerbach said. "So, I saw college and my four years here as a stepping stone toward a professional career post-college."

Auerbach comes from a family of physicists, and her natural curiosity and diverse interests led her to pursue an engineering path, finding the perfect fit with CEAT.

After completing her required two-year service with the Israeli military, where she continued to compete in track and field, she desired to find a university where she could compete and participate in in-depth research.

This led her to OSU, where she found faculty and fellow students who helped grow her passion for research.

"I think with juggling academics and athletics, I honestly find that I do better having a lot of things on my plate that I am passionate about," Auerbach said. "When I've found that, everything goes better."

Her parents emphasized learning over grades, and Auerbach credited her academic success to her love of learning. She joked that she may have driven some professors crazy with the number of questions she asked, though she is thankful to have had such great professors in CEAT.

"I am so grateful for everyone," Auerbach said. "I didn't have any engineering experience coming in. I wasn't exposed to the engineering field before being at OSU."

Auerbach's double majors in computer engineering and computer science give her a wider understanding of computers from both the hardware and science standpoints. This allows her to work in a career on either side of the aisle.

"That way, if I find myself working on the software side, I can develop software that is specific to the hardware constraints, and vice versa," Auerbach said.

Auerbach now heads to Virginia Tech University to pursue a Master of Science in computer engineering, where she joins a two-year program.

She leaves CEAT thankful for the mentorship, research experience and education she received as an OSU engineering student.

"When I got to campus and asked about the best programs, everyone said CEAT," Auerbach said. "And I just wanted to find the best place with the best professors. It exceeded all my expectations. The research opportunities I had as an undergraduate have been great, and I have been pushed on a personal level. It is something I have always wanted to be a part of."

Photos: Gary Lawson and Ellie Piper

Story by: Tanner Holubar | IMPACT Magazine