Andy Ly, from Lynn Classical High School, is Ivy League bound. He chose Harvard out of his many impressive acceptances, which included Brown, Cornell, and Stanford.

When asked about his dreams and if this was always in his plans, Ly said no.

“Growing up, I didn’t know about them. College was college. I didn’t start knowing I wanted to go to one until the end of junior year,” Ly said.

Ly recalled that his first dream was to be a pilot. When he took trips to Cambodia as a kid, he fell in love with planes and trains but couldn’t pursue it due to his eyesight.

When he got to high school, he started having different dreams, and developed passions for a wide array of activities and classes.

Ly made it clear that everything he was doing though, was for the purpose of having fun. That was his key to not get burnt out and he steered away from putting too much pressure on himself.

He also had a mindset and mentality that offered him hope for wherever life would take him.

“I told myself things would work out in the end, and I never worried about failing or losing it all,” Ly said. “And that there would always be a path for me.”

His advice for other Lynn students who have similar dreams was also to have fun and to “live your best life,” which, to Ly, meant to “Have fun with life” and to remember that “you’ll be okay in the end.”

This philosophy also made Ly more open-minded and passionate about trying out new activities. He just decided this year to join the tennis team, and he said this mindset allowed him to be more well-rounded.

Ly also discussed his application process and what made him stand out compared to other applicants.

“I talked a lot about inclusive energy, which is bringing people together,” Ly said. “I feel like that’s something unique to me and very special to me, and it’s about being able to bring diverse people together to work as a group.”

He said that having fun with things and what you are doing all day keeps you going and inspired. This balance, he said, was what also kept him from getting less burnt out, which can be a common struggle.

“If I was just strictly focused on academics, I would be burnt out,” Ly said. “So I was able to play the violin if I ever got stressed out about work. Or if I got stressed out about both of them, I could go for a run or a bike-ride.”

He described this as the idea of always having some momentum going somewhere and, with that, improvement.

“There’s always a bright spot somewhere,” Ly said.

When he gets to Harvard, Ly will major in mechanical engineering and minor in math. He said his other hopes and aspirations include bringing people together as teams and groups to better the community and those around them.