Midway Middle School student Lyndsi Schultz has been dreaming of becoming a Hollywood actress for years and after being selected to participate in the International Talent Showcase in Miami next summer, she is headed on the right course to LaLa Land.
The 13-year-old was one of only 20 young people — out of nearly 400 contestants who tried out — chosen to take part in the five-day showcase that provides aspiring performers access to scholarships, acting coaches and about 100 agents from across the globe.
For a girl born and raised in Midway, the opportunity to be seen by talent scouts from New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago as well as Milan, Paris and Tokyo is the chance of a lifetime.
“The only thing I could say was ‘Oh my God!’ and start crying when I found out,” Schultz said about when her mother, Amy Schultz, told her she had been selected to participate in the ITS. “I was just so excited because now agents from everywhere could sign me up to do movies and TV shows.”
But the eighth-grader’s new focus on acting is a significant shift from her original plan of working in the health field, a change she said began five years ago when she became an avid magazine reader and realized the financial rewards of an acting career.
“I started reading magazines and thought it’d be really cool to be an actress,” Schultz said. “And I thought it could help my family a lot if I was an actress, too because it’s a pretty good paying job.”
Using Devil Wears Prada actress Anne Hathaway and Miss Congeniality star Sandra Bullock as inspiration, the teen decided to act on her new calling and auditioned for the first time at the ITS tryouts at Hilton Head on Oct. 20.
The next day her mother made the phone call to the talent judges and delivered the good news.
Schultz’s selection was broadcast for three days during the morning and afternoon announcements at her school, causing the popular cheerleader to receive cheers of her own from classmates and faculty alike.
The attention, however, has not gone to Schultz’s head, according to vice principal and cheerleading coach Katrina Bateman.
“She’s not a braggart type person,” Bateman said. “She welcomes her gifts, she accepts them and she shares them with others.”
Having worked with the student for the past two years, the administrator and coach admitted she has never seen Schultz act, but is confident her lively personality can come across on any screen.
“She’s energetic and she has a lot of spirit,” Bateman said. “And she comes up with a lot of great ideas.”
MMS Principal Debra described Schultz as a “well-liked, very intelligent, very bright young lady” she believes will go far with her goals.
“Lyndsi has great aspirations,” Frazier said, “and I think she will fulfill all of her dreams and she will stay focused.”
Now as one of the chosen few, Schultz is making preparations for the ITS event at the Doral Gulf Resort and Spa in Miami this upcoming July - a $4,000 investment for her family.
The Schultz family has been seeking donations to help with covering some of the costs for travel and housing during the showcase, and so far has been able to raise around $1,000 from donors.
“Even if it’s just $1 or $5, it helps because it’s $1 or $5 we didn’t have before,” the teen said. “It all helps.”
For more information, call the Schultz family at 884-5020.
The 13-year-old was one of only 20 young people — out of nearly 400 contestants who tried out — chosen to take part in the five-day showcase that provides aspiring performers access to scholarships, acting coaches and about 100 agents from across the globe.
For a girl born and raised in Midway, the opportunity to be seen by talent scouts from New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago as well as Milan, Paris and Tokyo is the chance of a lifetime.
“The only thing I could say was ‘Oh my God!’ and start crying when I found out,” Schultz said about when her mother, Amy Schultz, told her she had been selected to participate in the ITS. “I was just so excited because now agents from everywhere could sign me up to do movies and TV shows.”
But the eighth-grader’s new focus on acting is a significant shift from her original plan of working in the health field, a change she said began five years ago when she became an avid magazine reader and realized the financial rewards of an acting career.
“I started reading magazines and thought it’d be really cool to be an actress,” Schultz said. “And I thought it could help my family a lot if I was an actress, too because it’s a pretty good paying job.”
Using Devil Wears Prada actress Anne Hathaway and Miss Congeniality star Sandra Bullock as inspiration, the teen decided to act on her new calling and auditioned for the first time at the ITS tryouts at Hilton Head on Oct. 20.
The next day her mother made the phone call to the talent judges and delivered the good news.
Schultz’s selection was broadcast for three days during the morning and afternoon announcements at her school, causing the popular cheerleader to receive cheers of her own from classmates and faculty alike.
The attention, however, has not gone to Schultz’s head, according to vice principal and cheerleading coach Katrina Bateman.
“She’s not a braggart type person,” Bateman said. “She welcomes her gifts, she accepts them and she shares them with others.”
Having worked with the student for the past two years, the administrator and coach admitted she has never seen Schultz act, but is confident her lively personality can come across on any screen.
“She’s energetic and she has a lot of spirit,” Bateman said. “And she comes up with a lot of great ideas.”
MMS Principal Debra described Schultz as a “well-liked, very intelligent, very bright young lady” she believes will go far with her goals.
“Lyndsi has great aspirations,” Frazier said, “and I think she will fulfill all of her dreams and she will stay focused.”
Now as one of the chosen few, Schultz is making preparations for the ITS event at the Doral Gulf Resort and Spa in Miami this upcoming July - a $4,000 investment for her family.
The Schultz family has been seeking donations to help with covering some of the costs for travel and housing during the showcase, and so far has been able to raise around $1,000 from donors.
“Even if it’s just $1 or $5, it helps because it’s $1 or $5 we didn’t have before,” the teen said. “It all helps.”
For more information, call the Schultz family at 884-5020.