Since she was little, Sara Sorenson’s dream job was to be a singer.

When she was five, she would sing during the Austin Mini-Stars’ seventh-inning stretch. She also performed in several high school musicals. Now Sorenson is about to take another step to achieve her dream.

Sorenson, who grew up in Blooming Prairie, is a finalist to go to the International Talent Showcase in Boca Raton, Fla. in July. The ITS is a week-long workshop where talented musicians, actors, models and dancers attend workshops and learn from some of the agents and talent scouts who work in the entertainment industry.

Sorenson hadn’t even heard of ITS until she listened to a radio ad for auditions in Rochester one day in August.

“I had a weird gut feeling that I wanted to be there and needed to be there,” she said.

She heard back from the casting director the next day telling her she made the cut.

Sorenson has to do some fundraising before she goes to Florida, however. The showcase entry fee is $2,500, not counting travel and lodging fees. In order to achieve her dreams, she recently recorded a Christmas CD with six holiday classics set to piano. She’s even got a little radio play from local station KAUS Country

Only 300 were printed and more than 200 have already been sold, according to Sorenson. CDs are available for $5 at A Touch of Charm and Studio J Images in Blooming Prairie as well as KAUS in Austin.

The money will make a sizable dent in Sara’s expenses, and she plans on creating another CD with her own material by July, which she hopes will also go on sale to help her cut costs.

Until then, she’ll be busy working on her Associate’s Degree from Winona State University, before she attends Northwestern Health Sciences University in Bloomington to pursue an Oriental Medicine degree. She will also attend training sessions in the Twin Cities every six weeks or so to prepare for her week in the spotlight.

Last year at ITS, a musician was signed to a record deal on the spot, according to Sorenson, and she hopes to be as lucky.

“Every kid has their dream job, and I’ve always wanted to be a singer,” Sorenson said. “It’s to the point now where I’m close (to becoming a singer). I’m kind of bad at taking risks and I want to go to school to have a career. But I also want to try. Why not?”