A touching moment Tuesday for a metro middle school student who helped save a life over the summer.

The sixth-grader from Millard's Anderson Middle School jumped into action when he noticed a toddler at the bottom of the pool.

Preston Caniglia, 12, was honored by the Sarpy County Sheriff's Office in front of all his classmates on Tuesday.

"Someone said there's a kid at the bottom of the pool and when I looked down I thought it was my brother then realized it was a three-year-old and my other cousin, and then I guess that adrenaline rush went through me and I swam down and got him," Preston said.

At that moment, he said, jumping into action came naturally.

He wasn't alone; a nurse who was at the party preformed CPR on the toddler. Roxana Francke was right by his side today as they received a Civilian Recognition Award.

"What an honor for him to have that and then in front of all his peers, showing how to be a good citizen at such a young age," Francke said.

Deputies from the Sarpy County Sheriff's Office made sure to be there as these two were awarded.

"Those things don't happen often enough and so maybe bringing it to the forefront makes other people think I can probably do that and they could," Sheriff Jeff Davis said.

The Sarpy County Sheriff's Office says the boy was responsive after CPR was performed.