Allie Preston admits she watches a lot of HGTV, but that is not the reason she wants to major in interior design.
At a glance
SCHOOL Russellville
CLASS RANK 5 of 319
GPA 4.27
ACT 31
SPORT Soccer
COLLEGE Arkansas
MAJOR Interior design
NOTEWORTHY Born Aug. 17, 1998. … Parents are Brian and Rychelle Preston. … She was a member of the National Honor Society, the Spanish National Honor Society and the Women’s Leadership Organization. … Secretary of the student council. … Scored three goals and made two assists as a defender for the Lady Cyclones soccer team, which advanced to the Class 6A state title game.
"The degree is more for architectural firms," said Preston, who will attend the University of Arkansas this fall. "It can be used for offices and hospitals. ... There are so many different things that you can do with that degree."
Preston said she chose interior design as her major by "the process of elimination."
"I started thinking about what I wanted to do for a career and I didn't want to have anything to do with math and I really didn't care for science," Preston said. "I did some job shadowing and I got to see what all went into it."
Preston played four years of soccer for Russellville, spending most of that time as a midfielder. One of her coaches suggested a position change to defender before her senior season.
"I was surprised, but it went really well," said Preston, a left-footed kicker. "They wanted me there because I could stay in the game longer. When you play midfielder, it will test your stamina. The bad thing about playing defender is if you mess up, it can be very costly. But I really enjoyed it and I'm thankful the transition went as well as it did."
Preston was also involved in numerous school activities, but said being a member of the student council her senior year was the most rewarding.
"It was my favorite because I got to help make a lot decisions," Preston said. "Until this year I only got to hear other people talking about it. This year I was part of a group effort that made those decisions."
-- Tim Cooper
Sports on 07/24/2016