El Sistema
El Sistema Oklahoma (ESO) has been impacting the lives of students for over 10 years. One of those students started ESO when she was in 5th grade. Her grandparents were raising her, and although she was highly intelligent, she struggled with anger. She was so shy that she would rarely talk. She had such a fear of failure that if she made a mistake playing her instrument in front of others, it might take her a week to pick up the instrument again. For the first couple of years, she struggled, but the strength of the ESO program is that it meets the students where they are. Over time the ESO staff witnessed the young woman gain confidence playing her instrument, and even said she liked it.