Since the age of 3, Mehlville Senior High School 2012 graduate Kaitlyn Louise Smith has been preparing for her Broadway debut.

Each year, Smith has been taking steps to establish herself as a singer, dancer and performer by participating in numerous Muny and local theater company productions while dancing competitively. As she works her way toward the Broadway stage, Smith will make a four-year stop at Indiana University, where she is one of only 10 freshman students accepted into the musical theater program this fall.

“I think college is important for performers because it’s a learning experience,” Smith stated in a district news release. “You learn more about yourself and your craft. It’s also a way to make connections and network.”

During her four years at Mehlville Senior High, Smith successfully juggled her theater interests with her rigorous academic schedule. Ranked fourth in her class, Smith completed numerous Advanced Placement and honors classes at MHS while serving as the captain of the Pantherettes dance team and a member of the National Honor Society, Student Council and Senior Executive Board.

“Mehlville is such a diverse school with so many cultures represented. You really understand what it means to be human because everyone is different,” stated Smith, who believes her high school experience will help her adjust when she becomes one of more than 32,000 undergraduate students who attend Indiana University.

Smith has spent the past 10 years dancing competitively at the Professional Dance Center, and she has been an Arts for Life Award nominee for her lead roles in two local productions. This summer marks her sixth year as a member of the youth group at the Muny and her third year participating in the Muny Teen Touring Group. Smith will perform in the Muny’s 2012 productions of “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” “Chicago” and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”

“I love the feeling of being on stage, the exhilaration of performing,” Smith stated in the release.

During the next several years, Smith will continue working to build her reputation as a performer in the St. Louis area. After college, Smith will travel further east to establish herself in the much larger theater community in New York City.