It has been a challenging outdoor soccer season for Aubert Rugero.
The 20-year old striker with the George Brown College squad didn't score a goal, played on a team that ended up winless and missed the playoffs.
Professionals, who get paid to play, always measure success by wins, goals and post-season. But in College, where the primary objective is education, some people see things in a different way.
Rugero, who hadn't played soccer for a few years prior to George Brown, may be a bit disappointed with the recent Huskies season. But he can't change the past and knows other opportunities await him down the road.
A student in the second year of the Construction Engineering Technology program, Rugero is a bright young man and devotes his attention getting the real job done – in the classroom.
There'll be more time for soccer, in January 2015, when he'll likely be challenging for a spot on the George Brown squad that will take to the carpet for the provincial Colleges Indoor season.
Rugero knows about tough times in sport, but he is well aware of losing much more than a soccer game.
Just ask him about his homeland of Rwanda - and genocide. He has stories about family members who didn't survive the horrors of 1994 when extremists launched a campaign to destroy part of the civilian population in the East African country.
It was back in 2006, Rugero, at the age of 13, came to Canada. He had lived a few years in South Africa after his parents and two siblings chose to leave their home in the Rwandan city of Kigali because of the violence, hatred and fear.
"My parents told me stories and I had trouble comprehending what had happened," said Rugero. "I am lucky to be alive – but lots of relatives didn't survive."
The cultural change, from Rwanda to Canada, wasn't easy for Rugero at first.
"It took some time to adjust and I am happy," he said. "This is a great country and a wonderful place to live."
For high school, Rugero attended Toronto's Dante Alighieri Academy. He played soccer in Grade 10 and was on the junior squad that won a league championship. After graduation, he took a year off from his education plans to find a job and save up enough money to attend College.
"I plan to work in construction management in a commercial building," said Rugero, who has his future planned. "I have learned a great deal and it'll soon be time to get a job. As for soccer, I am not sure if I will have time for that anymore. I have bigger challenges and a career ahead." - DG
