Amarillo College sophomore Eliza Pearson was about 10 years old back when she first lugged her cello into the Music Building and became a member of the renowned Suzuki Program for young and aspiring musicians at AC.

These days she’s toting that stringed instrument of hers just a couple of miles farther down the road – a relatively short jaunt that nevertheless propels her instantly from academia, esteemed though it may be, to genuinely rarefied air.