“ShotbyLay, ShotbyLay!” reverberates through Spangler as Potomac senior Andrew Lay scans the student section with his now unmistakeable camera, looking for the next riveting clip or image to feature on ShotbyLay™, Andrew’s Instagram account.

Andrew created ShotbyLay out of a love for Potomac and the senior class. He said, “I can get the small moments, when we are having a good time. I think it brings us together. When I first started, I had to seek out the footage and now people kind of pose for the camera– it just works.” 

Andrew began ShotbyLay with a focus on editing sports videos. Recently, he began telling visual stories of the whole Potomac community. “Last year I did an end-of-year video, and I think it was one of my best ones, if not the best one,” Andrew told us. “I think that inspired me to realize there’s more to our community. I’m trying to create a bigger picture of what Potomac is.” 

After Potomac’s seniors returned from the senior trip to Chincoteague, Andrew released pictures and videos to memorialize the experience. Senior Marcel Gaskins said, “I found the senior trip video to be especially touching because he used all of the clips to express the emotion of the entire trip and the senior class. It reminds me of how lucky I am to be surrounded by such a special group of people.”

The impacts of ShotbyLay are visible across the Upper School as students pose for a new video, yet the account seems to hold the most meaning for the senior class. Andrew hopes that ShotbyLay videos can become a living memory of high school for the Class of 2023 and future classes as they move beyond Potomac. Senior and Current photography editor Annabel Cronic said, “The videos are a way to look back on all the fun things in high school. As a senior it’s more meaningful, and it’s kind of bittersweet because we know these videos will be a way to relive our last moments together.”

Later this year, Andrew plans on compiling footage from throughout the year to create a final video of memories for the Class of 2023. Andrew said, “I really want that video to be something people can show to their kids, to show them what high school was like.” 

For some seniors, ShotbyLay has already fulfilled that purpose. Marcel said, “For the senior class specifically, his videos will live on for the rest of our lives as they give us a visual representation of some of the most special moments of high school. We are so lucky to have that.”