Most high school students are reacclimating to school schedules as the first few weeks of assignments pull them back into the rhythm of “formal” learning.
For high school student Olivia Befus, however, she is adjusting to the start of her senior year while also preparing herself—and Zeke, Phoenix, Spirit, and Echo—to perform their group act in front of America’s Got Talent (AGT) in the live semi-final competition on September 15, 2026.
Her dream came true right at the beginning of her school year.
A group act
Olivia views her act as a group act. It’s not just her; it’s also her dogs.
She owns 5 dogs: Zeke (a Papillion), Phoenix (a border collie whippet mix), Spirit (a terrier mix), Echo (a border collie), and Ocean (a pit bull and beagle mix). The first four are performing.
Olivia remembers watching a dog training act on AGT when she was 6 years old. She was instantly captivated and started reading dog training books. But it wasn’t until she was 13, sidelined from competitive soccer by a sports injury, when the opportunity to train a dog arrived.
Zeke needed a new home.
Olivia started training him in basic skills and agility (which she was particularly excited about). But there was more to work on. Zeke came to her absolutely terrified. Olivia said that she found that helping Zeke become calm around people helped her during a lonely season of her life.
Over the years, Olivia and her dogs performed at events like basketball half time shows, libraries and community events, and fairs. Olivia described her first shows as rather terrifying, but Zeke, Phoenix, Spirit, and Echo’s excitement was contagious.
A dream come true
Earlier this year, Olivia posted some of their performances on social media and in a surreal moment, a message arrived from the AGT team.
Two weeks later, they were auditioning.
Her 6-year-old dreams of performing on AGT were coming true.
Their first performance on the AGT stage opened with Olivia, a Taylor Swift song, and Zeke. A few minutes into the act, Phoenix joined.
The judges loved the routine and audience agreed, voting Olivia and her dogs into the quarterfinals.
A support structure
It’s a commitment to drive from Michigan to California for the AGT performances. It’s usually Olivia and her mother, Lisa, on the road with the dogs. Lisa is driving while Olivia works on school.
“This wouldn’t be possible without homeschooling,” Olivia said.
Olivia is taking her 4th English course with HSLDA Online Academy. Some of her older siblings also took Academy courses and found themselves well prepared for their college experiences, if not better prepared than some of their peers. That preparation and the Christian foundation were important factors for Olivia’s parents and some of the main reasons they kept returning to the Academy.
Beyond academics, Olivia said the amount of support she’s received from family and friends is incredibly encouraging. Her mom and sister help with the dogs backstage and the rest of her family flies out for the performances.
They’ve also been praying a lot in addition to the training, and that, Olivia believes, brings her a lot of peace during the performances. She mentioned a number of people reached out to her saying, “there’s something different about you.” That something, she believes, is a testament to her faith in Christ.
“Keep pushing in the direction you want to go in, and if that is your dream and if it’s God’s will, it’ll happen,” Olivia shared.
A future hope
At the time of this interview, Olivia and her dogs are preparing for the live semi-final round in CA, but senior year is a big year.
In addition to high school and AGT, Olivia is also thinking about college and future plans. She’s interested in studying animal rehabilitation or nursing, but her heart is currently leaning towards animal rehab.
Her future dream is to own a dog training facility and offer training courses. She’s also interested in writing a dog training book. Regardless, Olivia would love to encourage more youth into dog training.
That’s a dream that she’s seeing fulfilled thanks to her performances on AGT.
And at the end of the day, “I get to perform with my dogs, and whatever happens, happens!”
A summary
Academy students come from a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, and interests. Some students take our classes as they balance competitive activities like sports or music. Others enjoy the rigor and biblical foundations of our curriculum. Other students take our courses to access courses they aren’t able to find locally.
We love hearing about our students’ neat, creative, and thoughtful extracurricular interests.
Sometimes it’s a passion for music, participation in community service, leadership on a sports team, or an eye for drawing.
And sometimes it’s training several dogs to entertain and delight audiences!
Photos provided by Olivia Befus.
