Fort Scott native's shining star visible in the distance

For one former Fort Scott youth, a childhood dream may not be too far off in the distance.

Since Autumn Schoneberg, who relocated to Prescott a few years ago, was about two years old, she was hooked on performing in front of people. During her early years, her mother entered her in various pageants, which helped prepare her for her long-term goal of becoming a professional singer.

"I put her in pageants because she liked to sing all the time," Schoneberg's mother Annette Bogan said. "I think the pageants encouraged her."

The opportunities Schone-berg was given to showcase her talents from an early age until now opened the door to several recent accomplishments for the 16-year-old.

On Saturday, Sept. 20, Schoneberg was invited to sing the National Anthem in front of about 3,000 people at the I-70 Speedway in Kansas City. Singing in front of a large amount of people was not an easy task for Schoneberg to fulfill. However, a previous venture helped give her the courage she needed to face the crowd, open her mouth and let her talents show.

In August, Schoneberg traveled to Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo., to put her vocal talents to the test during an audition for the popular "American Idol" television show.

Schoneberg described her feelings about the audition.

"I was really anxious and nervous because I had never sang in front of that many people," Schoneberg said, "And if I did make it, I was afraid I would get yelled at by Simon."

Even though Schoneberg was not picked to move on to the next round of the auditions, the experience helped her gain a greater level of confidence in her singing abilities.

"The judges told me I have a very beautiful voice, but I wasn't what they were looking for this year," Schoneberg said. "It made me want to try harder and set my mind to coming back next year."

Schoneberg, who cut her first CD last March, is scheduled to cut a second CD next week in Blue Springs, Mo. Because country-style music fits her voice better than other genres, Schoneberg's first CD was primarily made-up of country music.

Her second CD, however, will contain a mixture of country and rock-n-roll music. In addition, in preparation for attaining her long-term goal of "making it big," Schoneberg is currently creating a press package to send out to radio stations.