Oklahoma State University Athletics
From Cowboy To Engineer: Catching Up With Christien Sager
August 14, 2015 | Cowboy Basketball
STILLWATER – For four years at Oklahoma State, Christien Sager was the definition of student-athlete. The 2015 OSU Male Scholar Athlete of the Year, Sager balanced a rigorous schedule of college basketball practices, weights sessions and road trips with a demanding class load of an electrical engineering major.
All of that hard work paid off for Sager. The Wichita Falls, Texas native graduated from OSU in May, and recently started a promising career. OKState.com caught up with the three-time First Team Academic All-Big 12 selection about his life in the professional world, and his favorite memories of Cowboy hoops.
OKState.com: Tell OSU fans what you are doing now?
I graduated with an electrical engineering degree in the spring, and recently took a job with Exxon/Mobil in Houston. Right now I'm under a mentorship-type program to learn the ropes, but soon I will be a field engineer. So, I'll have an area that I do project support for and help maintain operations. My area will be the west coast and the Rocky Mountain area. I will be working with pipelines facilities and terminals. If they need to install a pipeline or maintain an existing one, I would be the electrical engineer in the field making sure everything goes smoothly.
OKState.com: You moved down to Houston a few weeks ago, how are you liking Houston?
I actually like Houston a lot, but the traffic is pretty insane. The heat is about the same as in Stillwater, but the humidity is through the roof. I live a little outside of town in The Woodlands, so it's a little further away from the craziness of Houston. I have a pretty fun work group, and there's a lot of people my age in the office, so that part has been nice.
Unfortunately, I will only be in Houston for six months before I'll be moving to Los Angeles, since that will be the area I'm covering. I'm excited for the move, but I've heard it's super expensive out there.
OKState.com: We heard from Phil Forte that you had never made a B in college. Is that true, and if so, what's your advice for other student-athletes trying to do the same?
Yea, that is true. I made straight A's all throughout my time at Oklahoma State. And my advice for other student-athletes – don't sleep! I averaged probably six hours of sleep each night, and I felt lucky if I got seven. And it wasn't because I was up playing video games – I was always studying.
OKState.com: Between the travel and long practice hours, how tough was it for you to maintain your studies during the season?
It was pretty tough. As you would expect, college basketball is time consuming. Luckily I had great teachers what were pretty understanding. They always worked with my crazy schedule.
I remember my first big senior project. We had a lift at 4 p.m., and then I worked on the project all night – literally. The next morning, we had another lift at 8 a.m. and then individual workouts at 2 p.m., and I had to do both without any sleep. That was a pretty rough day.
OKState.com: Do you think Oklahoma State University prepared you for this career?
Honestly, I think it was the perfect school for me. I'm still in the learning process with my job right now, but OSU gave me a lot of options when it came to what I wanted to study. One of the biggest things with my job right now is pipeline controls, and the stuff I learned in school keeps popping up. I'll hear something and think, "I remember this," or "I learned about this." That kind of stuff helps me a lot. I think OSU did a fantastic job preparing me for my career.
OKState.com: Do you have a favorite Gallagher-Iba Arean memory?
Definitely, when we beat Kansas my junior year. They had Joel Embiid and Andrew Wiggins, who were both sure-fire NBA Draft picks. I only played three or four minutes in that game, but when I got in I guarded Wiggins. That was fun. There's a great picture I saw from that game of Marcus Smart going in for a layup, and you can see me in the background celebrating with my hands in the air. That was such a fun memory that I'll never forget.
OKState.com: Do you have any advice for this current crop of Cowboy basketball players?
The only thing I would tell them is that basketball isn't everything. I think a lot of players have dreams of making it to the NBA, and that's great, but everyone should have a backup plan. They need to make sure they have a plan to be successful in something else.
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All of that hard work paid off for Sager. The Wichita Falls, Texas native graduated from OSU in May, and recently started a promising career. OKState.com caught up with the three-time First Team Academic All-Big 12 selection about his life in the professional world, and his favorite memories of Cowboy hoops.
OKState.com: Tell OSU fans what you are doing now?
I graduated with an electrical engineering degree in the spring, and recently took a job with Exxon/Mobil in Houston. Right now I'm under a mentorship-type program to learn the ropes, but soon I will be a field engineer. So, I'll have an area that I do project support for and help maintain operations. My area will be the west coast and the Rocky Mountain area. I will be working with pipelines facilities and terminals. If they need to install a pipeline or maintain an existing one, I would be the electrical engineer in the field making sure everything goes smoothly.
OKState.com: You moved down to Houston a few weeks ago, how are you liking Houston?
I actually like Houston a lot, but the traffic is pretty insane. The heat is about the same as in Stillwater, but the humidity is through the roof. I live a little outside of town in The Woodlands, so it's a little further away from the craziness of Houston. I have a pretty fun work group, and there's a lot of people my age in the office, so that part has been nice.
Unfortunately, I will only be in Houston for six months before I'll be moving to Los Angeles, since that will be the area I'm covering. I'm excited for the move, but I've heard it's super expensive out there.
OKState.com: We heard from Phil Forte that you had never made a B in college. Is that true, and if so, what's your advice for other student-athletes trying to do the same?
Yea, that is true. I made straight A's all throughout my time at Oklahoma State. And my advice for other student-athletes – don't sleep! I averaged probably six hours of sleep each night, and I felt lucky if I got seven. And it wasn't because I was up playing video games – I was always studying.
OKState.com: Between the travel and long practice hours, how tough was it for you to maintain your studies during the season?
It was pretty tough. As you would expect, college basketball is time consuming. Luckily I had great teachers what were pretty understanding. They always worked with my crazy schedule.
I remember my first big senior project. We had a lift at 4 p.m., and then I worked on the project all night – literally. The next morning, we had another lift at 8 a.m. and then individual workouts at 2 p.m., and I had to do both without any sleep. That was a pretty rough day.
OKState.com: Do you think Oklahoma State University prepared you for this career?
Honestly, I think it was the perfect school for me. I'm still in the learning process with my job right now, but OSU gave me a lot of options when it came to what I wanted to study. One of the biggest things with my job right now is pipeline controls, and the stuff I learned in school keeps popping up. I'll hear something and think, "I remember this," or "I learned about this." That kind of stuff helps me a lot. I think OSU did a fantastic job preparing me for my career.
OKState.com: Do you have a favorite Gallagher-Iba Arean memory?
Definitely, when we beat Kansas my junior year. They had Joel Embiid and Andrew Wiggins, who were both sure-fire NBA Draft picks. I only played three or four minutes in that game, but when I got in I guarded Wiggins. That was fun. There's a great picture I saw from that game of Marcus Smart going in for a layup, and you can see me in the background celebrating with my hands in the air. That was such a fun memory that I'll never forget.
OKState.com: Do you have any advice for this current crop of Cowboy basketball players?
The only thing I would tell them is that basketball isn't everything. I think a lot of players have dreams of making it to the NBA, and that's great, but everyone should have a backup plan. They need to make sure they have a plan to be successful in something else.
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