VERONICA MARTINEZ, A PROUD PARENT WITH ELM FOR 10 YEARS

by Kate Fitzsimmons

Photo by Tim Porter

When Veronica heard about ELM, she could hardly believe it. Her son, Ulysses, brought home a flier about ELM from his elementary school. Veronica learned that her children could participate in music lessons for free. She loved singing in the choir in her hometown in Mexico. But formal music lessons? This was something she’d never been offered as a child. So, she enrolled Ulysses in ELM’s first recorder class.

Veronica didn’t have a car. Undeterred, she walked thirty minutes from home to Pickleweed Park every Saturday morning.  While waiting for her kids during their music classes, Veronica offered to help and became one of ELM’s first volunteers.

That was over a decade ago. Through exceptional work and dedication, her volunteer efforts evolved into a paid staff position as Site Coordinator. She is now the master-mind for all of our students’ comings and goings, and supports families with communications.

Photo by Tim Porter

Veronica is impressed at the impact of music on her childrens’ social and emotional lives. “I never imagined that learning to play music could give you such a very good start in life. I saw that my kids had more ability to focus. My son always had so much energy and moved around a lot, but music focused him, and it helped in his other studies.” Veronica said.

“My daughter was shy, but always a wonderful student, very dedicated.” Veronica continued, “Over time, she started talking more, feeling more confident. Last year, when she was interviewed about ELM for ABC 7 News, she was totally relaxed. It was amazing.”

Veronica is grateful for her connection with the ELM community.  “I was the first in my family to leave home and move so far away.  “ELM made a real difference, for me and my kids.”

Thinking about her dream for her children, Veronica’s eyes shine. “Abi will be the first person in my family to go to college. I’m so happy for her, especially after seeing all the time she spent applying for scholarships.” Now, she’s receiving funding from many of the scholarships for which she applied. Abi recently won a competitive national scholarship from our grantor, the D’Addario Foundation, which guarantees $2,000 for every year a student is in college.

Since she was 5, Abi has aspired to be a veterinarian. We are thrilled that this fall she will be entering UC Davis to study animal sciences. 

Veronica’s powerhouse determination is an inspiration to all of us at ELM.