by Brooke Hall
When Fabio Navarro scored a goal for IU Columbus during the first game of first-ever men’s soccer team, he was proud. But he wasn’t done.
“I want to score at least 15 goals this season. So, I have 14 more to go,” he says.
Navarro sets a lot of goals for himself—not just on the pitch—and he’s crushed many of them already.
He came to Columbus from El Salvador in 2016 to escape gang violence. Just days after his 15th birthday, he moved in with his aunt and uncle and began his freshman year at Columbus North High School. “I moved here for a better life, but I really didn’t speak any English at the time. It was a little crazy!”
He’d played competitive soccer in El Salvador and was happy to join his new high school team. By his junior year, his English was better, his grades were good, and—though he never thought he’d go to college—his aunt and uncle were very convincing. When he earned a scholarship for Ivy Tech, Fabio set another goal for himself.
Though it was difficult during the pandemic, in 2021 he finished his associate degree in mechanical engineering technology. He then set another goal and transferred to Purdue Polytechnic before coming to IU Columbus to complete his bachelor’s degree.
Since high school, he’s been playing recreational soccer in a men’s Sunday league and an indoor team over the winter. However, when he heard IU Columbus was starting a team, he set yet another goal: to play collegiate-level soccer. Though many warned him that at 23 he was too old to start playing college soccer, he laughingly said, “I’m like Michael Jordan in The Last Dance!”
As part of the Crimson Pride, it’s evident how badly Navarro wants to be here. Working full-time as a drafter at Master Power Transmission, taking a full load of engineering classes, and playing collegiate soccer keeps him extremely busy. He’s even reduced his work hours during the toughest weeks, noting how thankful he is for his employer’s flexibility during the soccer season and for the online class options at IU Columbus.
So far, he’s relished in the collegiate soccer experience. He says it’s more competitive than any other league he’s played in, and he’s been wowed by the strength and nutrition coaching, study tables, and all-around support from IU Columbus as a student-athlete. “I feel like I play for a national team or something,” he says with a big smile.
Navarro’s coaches have been impressed by his positivity, on and off the field. “Fabio has a great attitude, he always has a smile on his face,” said Kevin Nolan, head coach for the IU Columbus men’s soccer team.
“Fabio is a pleasure to be around. He has a maturity and friendliness about him that shines through,” said Kevin Jones, assistant men’s soccer coach and associate professor of business at IU Columbus. “Fabio knows just what to say to keep his teammates’ moral up.”
In addition to scoring 14 more goals on the field, Navarro recently set another goal for himself off the field: the young man from El Salvador, who never thought he’d go to college, is now talking about getting his MBA.