Saved from violence by his violin

In the summer of 2011, Moreno had a lot of adapting to do. He was floored by Texas’ massive six-lane highways and gleaming skyscrapers. After spending most of his life in cramped quarters, he also was amazed at how open the sky seemed and how boundless the horizon was in every direction.

And there were some other cultural differences.

“A friend I met here had a girlfriend, and the three of us were meeting for lunch,” Moreno recalled. “She arrived first, and I tried to say hello, but when I tried to kiss her on the cheek, she jumped away. In Colombia, that is how we greet!”

Americans, he also noticed, don’t like to hug, and when they do, it’s half-hearted.

“People don’t like to be touched here, I guess,” he joked.

Language also proved to be a little tricky for the young musician.

Before he could begin classes in the spring of 2012, Moreno was required to pass an English proficiency test.

He had studied English sporadically back in Colombia, but the results of the first rounds of his tests at the TCU Language Center weren’t encouraging. The university required a score of 70 or higher across several tests. On his first attempt he scored 56.

From August through the end of the semester, he spent several hours a day taking language courses and practice tests, but his test scores remained stubbornly low. TCU limits the number of times a student can take the test to five. By December, Moreno had used up all but one opportunity.

“I was afraid that if I didn’t pass the test I would have to go back to Colombia,” he said. “So many people had sacrificed for me to get to this point. I couldn’t let them down.”

What frustrated him the most was that in everyday conversations, his comprehension was improving, but the test results weren’t reflecting that. Each test was done in front of a computer. Something wasn’t getting through.

“So I had one more test left, and it was December,” Moreno said. “This was my last opportunity. So I enrolled in another online language training program … . You speak to a computer, and it measures your pronunciation. I realized that I am talking to computer, not a real person. Computers measure alignments in your inflection.”

Moreno realized that the online test did not measure comprehension. It measured only sound waves. He began playing with the program, even singing nonsensical melodies that matched the contour of the phrase the computer was expecting to hear. It worked.

“I think I know what I’m missing,” he told himself. “It’s the speaking part. Maybe I’m too soft, or maybe I’m not clear enough.”

The next day, he confidently took the final test. His keen ear had given him all of the insight he needed. As he half-yelled his answers into the microphone, the other students in the lab gave him funny looks or tried to shush him.

His test score jumped –– so much so that he received a certificate acknowledging him as the “most improved” international student that semester.

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