Lambert High School graduate Chen Lin is headed to the Ivy League but plans to take lessons from Forsyth County with him. 

Starting this fall, Lin will attend Yale University, where he plans to go into pre-med. Linn said he is very interested in biology and neuroscience and took advantage of opportunities at Lambert to take part in biology labs. He said he prefers the hands-on approach to learning in a lecture. 

At Lambert, he has been involved in a variety of school clubs including student council, Future Business Leaders of America and HOSA-Future Health Professionals.

But don’t write Lin off as only an academic. In addition to his studies, he also shadows medical professionals at Northside Hospital, helped plan some of the school year’s biggest events and has hung out with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars.

Lin sat down with Forsyth County News to answer some questions about his future plans, favorite memories from Lambert and his next steps in life. 

Q: Where are you going to college?

A: Next year I am going to attend Yale University. The school attracted me because they have a great neuroscience program and I really love the residential college system there, so I’m looking forward to a great year.

I’ve already made so many great friends during Bulldog Days, so I’m really highly-interested in the community that the school has.

Q: What is your future major?

A: I have always been extremely interested in how different systems in the human bodies connect with each other. I’m interested in pursuing pre-med.

[I am] fascinated by the brain and the different connections, just how this organ can control all of the bodies functions. I think it’s incredible. And it is a rapidly developing field, so that’s why the major is really attractive to me.

Q: What is your favorite subject?

A: My favorite subject is definitely biology because I’ve always been interested in how cells interact. I’ve been involved with a summer research project at Lambert. It’s called the Young Dogs program, so I’ve been involved with that.

It has taught me so many things in terms of wet lab research, and I have just grown as an individual and as a student through the program, and that got me really excited about biology. 

Also I took the AP biology class here and the class was lab-based, so I really enjoyed doing labs alongside other peers and broadening my learning in that aspect.

Q: What is your least favorite subject?

A: That’s a tough question. My least favorite subject, I feel like it depends on the year. It depends on the time of the year and the workload the classes heap on me.

The thing that I have with math is starting junior year, I took AP Calculus … I tried to study the materials over the summer in a previous class. The class turned out to be a little harder than I anticipated. 

However, I think I really enjoyed the class at the end of the day even if it was a huge amount of work because I welcome the challenge and that experience of really having my back against the wall, just really having to work to be able to get to where I want to be is just a really challenging but yet really rewarding experience at the end of the day.

Q: Who is your favorite teacher at Lambert?

A: My favorite teacher is Ms. [Doris] Dickerson. She is a part of the healthcare department at Lambert. They have a phenomenal, phenomenal program.

In high school, I actually go out and intern at Northside Hospital Forsyth, where I shadow nurses, physicians, pharmacists, physical therapists, so I get huge exposure in the healthcare field and get to look at different things for example, how they are doing stuff in a laboratory. It’s just a very interesting experience.

Q: What is your favorite Lambert tradition?

A: As a student council member, I’d say homecoming every year is a really, extremely fun event. Since I’m part of student council, I work with fellow student council members and our wonderful advisor Ms. [Jennifer] Wilson on planning homecoming in terms of decorations, how the hallways are going to look.

We choose a theme every year for homecoming. It’s a huge project and a huge amount of work, but at the end of the day, to see people enjoying the event and seeing people having fun at the homecoming football game, having them introduce the homecoming court on the football field and having them attend the homecoming dance and just having a great time with your peers, I just think there’s nothing comparable to that.

Q: What was your toughest challenge in high school?

A: I think my toughest challenge in high school, in terms of academics, would definitely be trying to catch up in AP Calculus.

What I did was I studied part of the course, pre-calculus, over summer, but when I got to the class I felt less prepared than my fellow peers and it was a challenging experience trying to catch up while trying to master lessons.

It turned out to be a tremendously rewarding experience, because I feel like that class, out of all the classes I took at Lambert, really challenged me.

Q: What is your favorite TV show?

A: My favorite TV show would be “Stranger Things,” and that’s partly because I met Millie Bobby Brown, who plays the character Eleven in “Stranger Things,” in New York.

We co-hosted an event called the UNICEF 70th Anniversary. I serve as a national UNICEF officer. I’m part of the UNICEF National Council. So, I was chosen as part of a team to represent the voices of youth at the event.

We co-emceed the event together, and we introduced some amazing, amazing goodwill ambassadors such as Jackie Chan, Orlando Bloom, David Beckham, so it was a huge experience and really got me exposed to the commercial world and how public figures really promote UNICEF and promote the rights of children everywhere. 

Q: What would you pick as your senior year song?

A: Personally, the song I stick to is "Hall of Fame" by the script. It’s just a hugely motivational song that I listen to sometimes when I’m working out.

In terms of representing the whole grade, I think everyone has their own interpretations and come from different walks of life, so they definitely have their own differences of songs. 

Q: What is your least favorite household chore?

A: Earlier this year, I had to organize our basement, so that was not fun. It was a mess before we organized everything. I took me literally the entire day.

Q: What are you most talented at?

A: I love to swim. I swim during the summer.
I really enjoy being in the water and just exercising, having fun with friends.

Q: Conversely, what are you least talented at?

A: I play tennis. I love tennis. The only downside is all my friends tell me, all my family tells me, I’m horrible, absolutely horrible at tennis, but still, I love the sport and I try to get my family out there on the court every weekend. So if anyone knows how to play tennis better, definitely hit me up.

Q: What is something many may not know about you?

A: I keep a gratitude journal, so that’s part of my morning ritual. I believe that being thankful for what I have every day and just appreciating the small things in life really is a powerful way of dealing with the stress and the negativity that people, especially how school students … run into every day.

I think being grateful and just enjoying the small things in life is very important.

Q: What are your career goals?

A: My goal right now is going to be trying to become a physician in the future. I’m definitely keeping my options open because I understand interests can change over time, so I’m just trying to learn as much as I can and dive into the field to get to know every aspect of medicine and what I want to pursue in the future.

Q: What is your advice for next year’s seniors?

A: Start early on your college application process, and enjoy the journey and take it one step at a time.