At 8 years old, most youngsters are in second or third grade, going about their studies and participating in extracurricular activities or sports.

But for one local girl, a hobby has turned into a passion, which led her to a national television competition: “America’s Got Talent.”

Ava Hoagland has been playing guitar since she was 5 years old, and her passion for music influenced her to try out for the competitive show.

She said she’s a fan of the show, but “not the gross stuff, like people sticking knives down their throats.”

Her favorite parts are watching dancers and other people playing guitar.

Her dad, John Hoagland, said she had been watching participants and decided that if they could do it, she could, too.

St. Louis auditions took place Jan. 26 at the St. Charles Convention Center, and John and Ava made the trek to see if Ava could make the cut.

They didn’t have to wait in line for too long, but they did have to wait quite a while when they got inside.

“There were saxophone wars going on, and this guy who could balance a leafblower on his head,” Ava said.

Her favorite part was all the interesting people she got to see performing and preparing for their auditions.

“I met a lot of cool people,” she said.

Ava said she wasn’t nervous going into the audition because she likes playing the guitar and singing for other people.

She plays at church and also goes to the School of Rock over in Kirkwood after school every Thursday for three hours.

“I’ve played at The Ready Room, the Gramophone, Kirkwood Station, and there’s a Beatles show at the Pageant coming up in May,” Ava said.

She enjoys playing The Beatles and the Rolling Stones, and practices at least 30 minutes a day.

She also takes lessons from St. Louis musician Billy Barnett, “the guitar guru of the city,” according to her dad.

“He’s really responsible for her success and getting her motivated,” John said.

Ava got her first guitar at age 3, since her dad buys and sells guitars.

“One day, she just said she wanted to play the guitar,” John said. “She went from being shy on the stage to being out in front of everybody.”

John said Ava’s “like a little sponge” when it comes to learning music and has really picked up on everything she’s tried to learn.

“It was a great experience for her,” John said. “We’ll probably do it again next year, too.”