A Singing Success

Maddie Reynolds didn’t sugarcoat it.

“Private school is a privilege and it is expensive.”

At the beginning of the 2014-15 school year, Reynolds, who graduated from Orange Lutheran in May, attended a luncheon dedicated to honoring the Orange Lutheran Thrift Shop volunteers. Profits from the Thrift Shop go towards supporting need-based financial aid for OLu students and families.

So when Reynolds was asked to give a speech to volunteers at the luncheon, she made it a point to express her gratitude to those that helped fund her high school career, and not hold back.

“I told my parents in eighth grade that I wanted to go to OLu, but they didn’t think it was possible for me to go there,” Reynolds said. “My parents are both singers in the entertainment business and they live on freelance jobs. God has always provided for our family, but it is sometimes a bumpy road with fluctuating incomes.

“But God guided us every step of the way in the decision to go to Orange Lutheran, and He provided a way for me to go here through the help of financial aid.”

Orange Lutheran’s Annual Fund, along with the Thrift Shop, are the two key vehicles by which students like Reynolds are provided need-based financial aid. Roughly 35 percent of Orange Lutheran families are assisted with close to $1.5 million in tuition support.

For Reynolds, she believes attending OLu has been vital to her growth as a Christian, as a student, and as an artist.

Maddie Reynolds '15

“I knew Orange Lutheran had a great music program that I wanted to be a part of,” Reynolds said about her decision to attend OLu. “At the time, I was into cheerleading as well as music, and I wanted to be part of a school that had amazing coaches and school spirit. I knew that I would thrive with such caring teachers and peers.

“I felt cared for immediately at Freshman Registration Day. I felt the love of Christ at the school, and I wanted to continue with a Christ-centered education.”

And during her four years at Orange Lutheran, Reynolds certainly made the most of the opportunities in front of her.

Reynolds has performed in several musicals, been a member of Spiritleaders, and sung in Honors Choir. And during her senior year, she was selected to the prestigious Southern California Vocal Association’s Regional Honor Choir.

Reynolds is now a freshman vocal performance major at Azusa Pacific University. Despite her singing chops however, she said that her dream is not to be a singer, but rather produce and write music.

“I don’t want to sing for my career, but I want to do something in music. I want to compose film scores and put instruments together for singers. You can’t just do one thing in music and survive. You have to be multitalented.”

And without her four years at Orange Lutheran, Reynolds isn’t sure she’d be in the position she is now.

“I told my mom recently that I felt badly they had spent so much money on private school for me, but I also told her that I couldn’t imagine how different my life would be if I hadn’t attended Orange Lutheran,” Reynolds said. “Because of this school, my college prep has been amazing, and I was offered academic scholarships and music scholarships.

“I am so thankful I was able to attend Orange Lutheran.”