NEW BERLIN, Wis. — Patrick Nettesheim picked up a guitar at a young age and never let it go. That childhood passion has evolved into a mission to help veterans and first responders heal through music.
"When I was like 5 years old, I always wanted to be a rock star when I grew up," Nettesheim said.
He shares that love of music with former student Scott Cvecko, who understands the intimidation many feel when starting to learn guitar.
"I think when people look at a guitar, they think, 'Well, I have to play like Eddie Van Halen in the first five minutes.' And you don't have to be," Cvecko said.
But this is more than a jam session between teacher and student.
"Music in and of itself is therapeutic, we all know that," Nettesheim said.
Nettesheim co-founded Guitars for Vets in 2007, inspiring 150 chapters throughout the United States to provide guitars and lessons to veterans for free. Veterans like Cvecko have benefited from the program.
"I had always loved music, but to learn to play it, someone had to take the patience to teach me. For a nonprofit to take on people like me and say, 'Hey, let's give this guy the opportunity to play music,' it was wonderful," Cvecko said.
Watch: Music therapy program in New Berlin expands beyond veterans to first responders
The response from veterans like Cvecko and the growth of Guitars for Vets showed Nettesheim that his mission needed to evolve.
"A mission usually has a finite end to it. If you achieve it, the thing we're doing here is a movement," Nettesheim said.
That realization led him to leave the organization he started to create Music Success, expanding beyond veterans to serve other groups facing trauma.
"So you're looking at law enforcement, firefighters, medical professionals, and our focus is on these demographics. But frankly, if somebody comes to our door and they're struggling with PTSD or whatever they feel is an emotional or physical trauma, we're not going to turn them away," Nettesheim said.
Cvecko has found confidence and community through Music Success.
"It's an awesome way to express yourself, and then when you get opportunities like here at Music Success to play on our red-carpet stage and play your songs to an audience in a non-threatening, supportive environment," Cvecko said.
For Nettesheim, he believes he has now found his calling through this expanded mission to heal others through music.
To learn more: https://music6s.com/
This story was reported on-air by Shannon Sims and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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