It seems like only yesterday aspiring singer Stacy Lynn Hines was in junior high and began taking guitar lessons at Chapman Music in Lone Oak, Ky. She started young in a vocation that normally requires participants to pay dues for a long time before there are any significant financial rewards.

As a teenager, she made countless trips to Nashville, Tenn., where she was tutored by veteran hit maker Judy Rodman and regularly provided vocals for projects of a chain of national Christian book-stores. She simply loved to sing and was a regular talent contest winner at the Kentucky Opry, located a few miles south of Paducah.

"I wish I could sing forever, that would be beautiful," says Hines, who knows a thing or two about beauty. She was Miss Metropolis in 2006 and Miss Southern Illinois Electric Coop in 2007, earning the right to compete in the Miss Illinois Pageant.

Hines was raised in a rural area between Vienna and Metropolis. She still lives with her parents.

While building contacts in Music City, she attended prestigious Belmont University, where she gradu-ated with honors last year. She was one of the youngest graduates in school history, earning a bachelor's degree in finance when she was just 19.

One of the final requirements for her degree was an internship, which she completed at Amylase En-tertainment, a publishing company owned by Dippin' Dots creator Curt Jones, a Southern Illinois na-tive.

"The internship was an eye-opening experience. You get to see what goes on behind the scenes," Hines said. "Most of the time, I organized the music catalog of the writers. I learned the process song-writers go through to pitch songs and how they work together to co-write. My boss would listen to songs all day and decide which artist they fit. I would take copies of the demos to their management companies, and hopefully they would record it."

She developed a working relationship with Deanna Bryant, who wrote "Stupid Boy" for Keith Urban. She plans to use Bryant songs on future recording projects.

Also in Nashville, she worked at the Country Music Hall of Fame, where she carefully studied the ex-hibits and developed a deeper appreciation for the heritage of country music.

The 20-year-old Hines is carefully choosing her path as she navigates the turbulent waters of a music career.

Every other weekend this summer, she is attending Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, where she will eventually earn her master's degree in public administration.

"Most of my classmates at Belmont went straight to Wall Street as soon as they graduated," Hines says, "I'll have the credentials to be a stock broker, but I'm more interested in making records. Music has always been my passion."

Obviously a good student, Hines now gives guitar and voice lessons at Chapman Music, which is owned by Herb Chapman, father of Christian rock star Steven Curtis Chapman.

"Mr. Chapman says I will always have a job at his store. He would eventually like to see me take over and manage the store," Hines says. "I guess that would be a good back-up plan, but my goal has always been to get a record deal."

With knowledge gained through her recent internship, Hines plans to kick open the doors of several Nashville major labels in the near future and deliver a high quality demo tape of all-original material. She plans to finish recording the six song demo project this summer.

All the tracks were written or co-written by contemporary Christian artist Jeremy Johnson. A few of the songs were recorded at Darkhorse Studio, which has platinum records on the wall from work done there by Taylor Swift.

"It's tough to go to school and work on a singing career at the same time," Hines says. "Right now, I'd like to sing the National Anthem at as many events as possible. It has always been my favorite song to sing."

Hines says she is very interested in auditioning for the SI Opry and would like to become a member of the cast. The SI Opry will give regularly scheduled performances later this year at Marion Cultural and Civic Center.

VINCE HOFFARD can be reached at 618-658-9095 or vlh76@midwest.net.