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Victoria Lanzillo is 17 years old and a senior at Victor Central School. She lives with her mom and dad, Jackie and Dave Lanzillo, and her two dogs, Max and Sammy.
What activity or project have you tackled that has been the most rewarding?
There are two things that I would truly deem the most challenging and rewarding activities that I have been involved in in high school: being a member of the Victor Marching Blue Devils Field Band and serving as a volunteer for the Young People Who Care Appalachian Service Project.
How did you get involved with that project and what makes it rewarding?
I have been a member of the Marching Blue Devils for the past six years, and during that time I have learned a lot about teamwork, trust, and commitment. I have also gained a new band family who I love dearly. Being a part of the marching band has given me an opportunity to be a part of something that is a lot bigger than me. We all work together to reach our goal, which isn’t necessarily to win each competition, but to perform as a team and do the best job possible week to week.
Throughout my years in the marching band (and the Indoor drumline during the winter) we have been fortunate to win five state championships, which is a great honor. What makes it even more special is that we did it as a team, where everyone contributes equally.
Over the past three years I have had the opportunity to lead the field band as one of the drum majors. This experience has taught me all about leadership, respect, and communication. Marching band and drumline have really helped to shape me into who I am today and helped to foster my love for music and the performing arts.
I also have had the wonderful opportunity for the past three years to volunteer with my church (St. Patrick's in Victor), through Young People Who Care, to provide a week of service to people in the northern Appalachian Mountains. We did things like roofing, construction, yard work, and visiting nursing homes.
I worked with and met such wonderful people including students from other parts of the country. Meeting and listening to the stories of the people we helped made a great, positive impression on me.
Who has most inspired you to be the person you are today?
Victoria Lanzillo is 17 years old and a senior at Victor Central School. She lives with her mom and dad, Jackie and Dave Lanzillo, and her two dogs, Max and Sammy.
What activity or project have you tackled that has been the most rewarding?
There are two things that I would truly deem the most challenging and rewarding activities that I have been involved in in high school: being a member of the Victor Marching Blue Devils Field Band and serving as a volunteer for the Young People Who Care Appalachian Service Project.
How did you get involved with that project and what makes it rewarding?
I have been a member of the Marching Blue Devils for the past six years, and during that time I have learned a lot about teamwork, trust, and commitment. I have also gained a new band family who I love dearly. Being a part of the marching band has given me an opportunity to be a part of something that is a lot bigger than me. We all work together to reach our goal, which isn’t necessarily to win each competition, but to perform as a team and do the best job possible week to week.
Throughout my years in the marching band (and the Indoor drumline during the winter) we have been fortunate to win five state championships, which is a great honor. What makes it even more special is that we did it as a team, where everyone contributes equally.
Over the past three years I have had the opportunity to lead the field band as one of the drum majors. This experience has taught me all about leadership, respect, and communication. Marching band and drumline have really helped to shape me into who I am today and helped to foster my love for music and the performing arts.
I also have had the wonderful opportunity for the past three years to volunteer with my church (St. Patrick's in Victor), through Young People Who Care, to provide a week of service to people in the northern Appalachian Mountains. We did things like roofing, construction, yard work, and visiting nursing homes.
I worked with and met such wonderful people including students from other parts of the country. Meeting and listening to the stories of the people we helped made a great, positive impression on me.
Who has most inspired you to be the person you are today?
There are a lot of people who have inspired me to be who I am today, such as my grandparents and so many of my teachers. It’s hard to pick just one. So I would say that my parents have really inspired me throughout my entire life to always reach for the stars, never give up, and to always let your passion shine through, whatever I am doing. My parents are my true inspiration and they have really helped to shape me into the person I am today.
How do you balance all your time commitments?
With everything that I do time management is a bit of a challenge. It's not always easy but I try! I think it comes down to communicating effectively and keeping your priorities straight. It is important to let my family, teachers, band staff, and school club advisors know what I am doing. I keep everything that I have planned in my phone calendar so I can look at it whenever I need to.
What do you could choose any career in the world, what would you be?
I would love to be a professional actor. I really love music and performance and have wanted to pursue a career in the performing arts since I was a little girl. I have always enjoyed watching people on stage assume a role, and take the audience with them on a journey to amazing places. Throughout my high school career, I have found great joy in participating in the performing arts – whether it be marching band, percussion ensemble, jazz band, drama and musical theatre productions
What’s on your iPod?
The music on my iPod ranges from pop songs, to Broadway musicals, to classical and country. However, I also love to listen to jazz and rap as well! My favorite all-time band is Paramore and I could listen to them all day and never get tired of it.
What do you do for fun?
For fun I like to hang out with friends and my family. In the winter I love to go snowboarding and go to the mall and the movies. It’s also fun to hang out with my parents and play board games or just talk.
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I would want to go back to Italy. I went there with my family when I was eight years old and I had a blast. My great grandparents came from Italy and it's really awesome to be able to go see where your ancestors came from. I also really enjoy Italian food and, of course, the best place to get Italian food would be Italy!
What’s your favorite food?
My absolute favorite food of all time is cheese. I think that I could live off of it every day for the rest of my life and I would be a happy camper. When I was in fourth grade I even did a science fair project on which macaroni and cheese was the cheesiest!
What's your best advice for other students your age?
My advice for students my age is to always be yourself, no matter what, and to always strive for your goals. There will always be people who underestimate you, so surprise them. Always have fun, work hard and look forward to tomorrow. Take advantage of all that life offers and remember to think of others beside yourself.
