This week's Patch Pick for a local exemplary young person is Victoria Preston, a junior in the STEM program at South River High School. Among the top students in her class academically, Preston was nominated to be a Patch Whiz Kid by Ryan Sackett, faculty advisor to the school's PowerHawks robotics team and  Project Lead the Way, a Science, Technology Engineering and Math pathway for students.

Sackett said that Preston is "most of my brain." He continued, "she reminds me of all the things I can't think of. She's smart and responsible—she might be the most responsible student I've ever had."

Preston will be a part of the first graduating class of STEM students. She is one of the leaders of the PowerHawks robotics team, where she is the business co-captain. The business leaders on the team create a business plan as part of their outreach to local businesses. They are also working this year on a team application for the Entrepreneurship Award from FirstRobotics.

Parent advisor to the team Becki Hutchison said that Preston brings a unique talent to the club, "she takes information—she can listen, process, synthesize and put it into language that people can understand. She's phenomenal."

Preston said that she always loved to tinker, "when I was little, I played with Legos." But, she said that up until high school, she wanted to be an English teacher.

"Then I got involved in Project Lead the Way, and realized that it was my calling," Preston said.

She has a rigorous schedule for a 16-year-old. Aside from a minimum of two to three hours a day (seven days a week) when she is helping the robotics team during the build season (January to March), Preston is taking four AP classes. She said she gets home and spends two hours studying, maybe getting a bite to eat.

"It's all about time management," Preston said modestly.

"That's the other thing," Sackett said. "She's very humble."

Aside from her academic pursuits, she's well-rounded in terms of community involvement. She is the music coordinator for the Vacation Bible School at Mayo United Methodist Church. She serves breakfast at the monthly Kiwanis Club of Mayo breakfast events.

In addition, she is an accomplished piano player, and has begun offering classes to beginners. She won the Paderewski Award and has been in the National Piano Guild for a decade.

She also tutors at the middle school, doing one hour of paid tutoring each week and two hours of volunteer tutoring.

"I help two boys who don't have as much at-home help—it is not as much tutoring as mentoring," Preston said.

Sackett said that Preston is, "altruistic—she is always going the extra mile. I don't have any other kids like that. She sets the standard."