GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — Rylea Pritchett sat in front of her computer with her parents and older sister anxiously waiting behind her.

A family video captures Rylea saying “I’m so scared right now” before she proceeds to learn the status of her acceptance into one of the nation’s top schools.

Once Pritchett went to the page that provided an update, the entire family screamed with joy.

“When I saw the confetti and the ‘congratulations’ in bolded letters, I just cried tears of joy. I was crying so much for the first five minutes,” Pritchett said.

That was the moment Pritchett learned she had been accepted into Harvard.

Years of hard work as a standout student at STEM Early College at N.C. A&T University put her in the position to have multiple offers from academically competitive schools including Harvard College, Yale University, Duke University, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and The University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

“[At] this school, we do not choose the easy way out, ever…so I have just been going, taking challenging classes, challenging projects and all of that, so it was really just validating to know that your work has paid off, and it isn’t for nothing, and so that was just a very great feeling,” Pritchett said.

Pritchett has balanced her academic responsibilities with holding leadership roles including serving as vice president of the Student Council and volunteering in the Greensboro community.

Out of all her options, Pritchett has decided to attend Harvard as part of the class of 2027.

For proud parents Yolanda and Chris Pritchett, they joked that lightning struck twice.

Their older daughter Ryyan also attended STEM Early College at N.C. A&T University and will graduate from Harvard this May.

“We’re both doing great things as individuals but also together as sisters, which is all I could ask for,” she said.