Andrew Steward grew up in New Mexico doing normal boy things—he played music, hiked in the mountains and skied in the winters. The oldest of three sons, he excelled in classes, graduated high school in 2004 and went to California.

Andrew completed two years of college there, celebrated his twentieth birthday, and experienced an intense and life-altering shift. He started hearing voices other people didn’t hear and became committed to a reality that other people didn’t see.

Concerned, his parents traveled to California and brought Andrew back to New Mexico. Then, the real work began.

Andrew, his family and doctors spent three years trying to sort out what was going on. Was he bipolar? Schizophrenic? Something else? They still don’t know for certain although they have determined the right blend of medications to solve the problem. Now a flute performance major in the University of Denver Lamont School of Music, Andrew is once again excelling in school. He will graduate next year and plans to attend graduate school to study gerontology.