PELLA-- The determination and drive Central College senior Aroni Niyikiza learned on the soccer field helped him return there after a summer accident threatened not only his career, but his future.

Niyikiza knows adversity. A Tanzania native, Niyikiza has seen much in his young life, but was blindsided by what he woke up to while watching his siblings at his family's Cedar Rapids home June 5.

His 10-year-old sister Naima entered his bedroom that morning and announced she was making breakfast.

"What she wanted to make, I told her no," Niyikiza said. "I thought she had heard me."

Niyikiza got up and wandered outside, only to have younger brother Miraj, 11, scream "The house is on fire! The house is on fire!"

Miraj has a bad habit of joking about serious matters. He wasn't joking.
 

"I didn't believe him at first, then I smelled smoke and I knew it meant business," Niyikiza said.

There was a grease fire from the pot on the stove. Niyikiza raced for a fire extinguisher, but it was surrounded by flames under the sink. Frantically pulling Naima from the fire, Niyikiza's elbow hit a pot, which showered him with burning grease, leaving third-degree burns on his left hand, second-degree burns on his right hand and foot, and burns behind his ear.
 
"I didn't feel anything because it was the adrenaline that just kept me going," Niyikiza said. "I still tried to get the fire out while my little brother was on the phone with the police. I couldn't feel anything in my left arm because it burned all the nerves."
 
Niyikiza was taken to St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids, before being transferred to the burn unit at the University of Iowa Hospital in Iowa City, where he had surgery three days later.
 
Among his first visitors was Central men's soccer coach Garry Laidlaw.
 
"We were very concerned because up until I saw him, we weren't sure if he was ever going to be able to play again, let alone this season," Laidlaw said. "Though relieved to know his injuries weren't life threatening, we simply didn't know how they were going to affect his overall health and well-being, long term."
 
Niyikiza left the hospital, physically and emotionally scarred as well as temporarily homeless due to the fire. He initially stayed with his grandmother before moving into a hotel with his family for three weeks. He faced an uncertain future.
 
 "The first week was really, really hard for me," he said. "I thought I could do a lot of things by myself. I thought I would be able to wash myself or feed myself and that didn't happen. It was a big emotional part for me. It was frustrating, and sad. I was dependent on others to do things for me."
 
Doctors told him his soccer career was in doubt. Niyikiza had other ideas.
 
"I was determined," he said. "I wanted to go out there and play again no matter what," he said.
 
A three-time letterwinner at forward, Niyikiza was passionate about playing, not for himself, but for his teammates. Together, they'd endured adversity of a different sort. He thought back to his freshman year. Central was 4-13. He's among six senior players who were part of that squad and have driven a resurgence in the program as the Dutch have won 29 matches in the three years since. They've earned a berth in the American Rivers Conference tournament, opening Saturday at Simpson College at 1 p.m.
 
"All of us stayed committed," he said. "I felt I owed it to them, to the team and to my program. We have turned the Central soccer program around. We have so much to play for. I want to show the freshmen that we have changed the expectations for the team. We aim high."
 
Lessons learned on the Central men's soccer pitch provided a path back to the life he wanted.
 
"The men's soccer program has made me learn a lot," he said. "It teaches you to challenge yourself, just be patient, and things just come slow."
 
Things did come slowly, through hours of physical therapy exercises along with trauma and occupational therapy.
 
"The mindset for me was to be driven to be able to do things and to be able to not depend on anybody helped me drive myself to get better," he said. "I wanted to be able to walk on my own."
 
By July 11, Niyikiza was carrying boxes into his family's new rental home. The disappointment of not being to visit Tanzania during the summer with his family due to his rehabilitation was exceeded by the passion that fueled his return to the soccer field.
 
"I learned you have to heal first before you can go out and do things," he said. "When I first got cleared, I was running and biking, trying to get back into shape so I can come back and compete at Central."
 
In early August, a few days before the start of fall training, he was cleared to compete.
 
"This summer being the toughest it could be, it drove me to work harder," Niyikiza said.
 
All of which caused Niyikiza to view the Central soccer field with fresh eyes when he first trotted onto the turf with his teammates in the preseason.
 
"It felt different," he said. "It was kind of special. (The accident) didn't stop me from doing what I love. It's nice to be part of the team."
 
He's played in all 17 games for the Dutch, scoring one goal.
 
Niyikiza charted an unlikely path to Pella. His family moved to the U.S. when he was 10, first landing in Massachusetts, then, in 2009, in Cedar Rapids. Soccer is popular in Tanzania, but it wasn't until he landed in Iowa that he actually discovered the sport, playing goalkeeper for his seventh-grade team, then getting more serious at Washington High School.
 
"Freshman year in high school, I started to play a lot of soccer," he said. "I was training by myself, playing for clubs, and I kept getting better and better."
 
Others noticed. His coach encouraged him to consider college soccer. He discovered Central through a Business Horizons camp he attended part of a high school robotics group.
 
"It was awesome," Niyikiza said. "I loved the campus and the camp that I attended. We stayed in Graham Hall and it was kind of fun to be on a college campus. I loved the environment here."
 
Relatives pushed him elsewhere but Niyikiza knew Central was the best fit.
 
"I didn't want to follow anyone's footsteps," he said. "(My club teammates) wanted to stick together. I thought, 'I'm just going to go to my own place.'"
 
A few years later, seeing Laidlaw standing in his hospital room affirmed his decision.
 
"It was really nice seeing him there," Niyikiza said. "It did make me happy to see my coaches from my past, my old teammates from club soccer and some of my Central teammates. It was special. I kind of forgot that I was hurt."
 
"Niyikiza has come so far since his freshman year," Laidlaw said. "He has really matured and continues to grow into a fine young man. Our own relationship has grown immensely in that time and we have developed a mutual respect and care for each other which goes well beyond the soccer field. He was challenged early on in his time here, both on and off the field. He had to adapt to a different coaching style than what he had experienced and been used to. I think the way he has responded, not only to those challenges, but to many major experiences he has met in his life will continue to serve him well into the future."
 
His life at Central is about more than soccer. An international studies and political science major, Niyikiza returned to Tanzania last spring with a group of Central students on a mission trip through Hope of the Nations, performing community service work.
 
"It was very special, going back and reliving it again," he said. "It really changed my perspective and made me realize how grateful I am for everything I have."
 
Commitment to serve others drives his career ambitions as well. After graduation in the spring, Niyikiza hopes to enlist in the U.S. Air Force and then attend law school to work in immigration law.
 
"I want to show my appreciation for what this country has done for me," he said. "I'm grateful. That's my way to say thank you."
 
Niyikiza's first goal of the season on a second-half shot against Nebraska Wesleyan Oct. 13 represented more than the game-winner in a 2-1 Dutch victory. It represented a comeback for the men's soccer program, and a more personal triumph for Niyikiza.  He'll leave Central with some scars, but also with a newfound resilience he'll carry beyond graduation.
 
"If life takes a turn, you go with it," he said.