Michelle Zou can sum up what she loves most about soccer in one simple word.

“Teamwork, but I don’t think it’s mostly on the field,” Zou said. “It’s off the field.”

But there’s a different word that everyone else uses to sum up this Robert F Kennedy High School senior.

“She was a good leader, and she just led by example,” commented soccer coach Jeff Tyler.

This soccer star may have been late to the game — not joining the high school team until her junior year — but she’s never late to practice and is always there for her teammates.

To Zou, it’s the essence of what makes a good leader.

“I think knowing your team members,” said Zou. “Like where their strengths and weaknesses are.”

With an emphasis on teamwork, the girl’s varsity soccer team made it to the playoffs this year.

Bringing people together is not something new for Zou. During the pandemic, at the hardest moment of student life, the high schooler joined Bring Change To Mind. The club’s purpose was awareness and to offer support to teenagers dealing with mental challenges and stressful situations.

“We were all stuck on Zoom and there wasn’t much communication,” said Zou. “Personally, I wasn’t reaching out to friends much either and I was like, ‘Maybe this is a club that comes at a perfect time.’”

Along with other club members, Zou created group meetups and movie nights to connect with her classmates during this isolating time.

And the idea of building community stuck.

As things began to open up again after the pandemic, Zou joined her high school’s service club to help launch the Flushing Lunar New Year parade. Paring with other high schools, they organized the entire event and celebration.

“It was important to do something that touched back on our own culture,” said Zou. “It was important because none of us had ever done anything that big.”

Michelle Zou is headed to Stony Brook University in the fall to pursue biology; sure to score as she continues to bring her community together through her quiet leadership.