When Jessica Zhou (’23) first immigrated to the United States, she found herself in an unfamiliar environment and felt uneasy about finding a support system within golf to cheer her on for her successes. Yet, as the competitive nature of the sport began to weigh her down, she encountered a new community that welcomed her with open arms.

Jessica joined the varsity girls golf team at Harker during her first year of high school. Since then, she has improved both as a golfer and as a team player, and as a senior, she took on the role as a leader for the team this year. 

“To some extent, being a senior on the team means that I have more people relying on me and more people actually believing that I can be of any help to them,” Jessica said. “That’s what’s really emotional and really heartwarming is that I started off heavily relying on my seniors. They helped me with so many different things and to see that I was really able to fulfill their legacy and help the next generation as well, that’s all I hope for.”

Jessica most cherished the community within the golf team. Fostered through long bus rides, group conversations and boba meetups, each of these small joys kept the team close and built meaningful connections within the team.   

“With the team, it’s really enthusiastic: our ‘hi’s and hugs in the hallways and playing with one another,” Jessica said. “That’s the power of all these little things that bring us together.”

Learning to become a leader proved to be a challenging process for Jessica. Especially in overcoming her past losses, Jessica dedicated time to improving as an individual before mentoring her teammates.

“Knowing, ‘Okay, that’s fine,’ after [making a mistake] is important.” Jessica said. “You have more things than that, and you can do better. You have the skills you practiced. That translates to everyday life. Don’t give up; there’s things to be learned from it.”

Upper school biology teacher teacher Dr. Matthew Harley commended Jessica’s leadership as one characterized by passion and open-mindedness. As an officer of Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) Club, Jessica maintained a strong role in planning and organizing a club trip. Dr. Harley recalled her contributions to the process, both with her positivity and he engagement in the activities of the club.  

“Jessica was the one that organized all of the local travel plans,” Dr. Harley said. “She was the one helping make sure students were staying positive and going to different events, both passively with her positive attitude where she’d be bouncing up and down. Actively as well, asking students where they’re going next, what their interests were, and just being a joy to be on that trip with.”  

The growth of Jessica’s confidence shines through in her daily life, as noted by close friend Anika Pandey (’23). Anika recognized Jessica’s optimism when they first met in ninth grade and, over the years, Jessica’s increased dedication and spirit.

“Jessica has gotten a lot more confident over the years, not just in terms of social skills, but also other aspects of her life like in her extracurriculars and like a better attention span,” Anika said.

Ultimately, the personal connections are what Jessica treasures the most. Close friend Karina Chen (’23), who lived with Jessica when she first arrived in the United States, appreciated Jessica’s natural affability that strengthened their friendship.

“Sometimes, [when] I’m walking with her, she just stops [to] talk to someone for 10 minutes, and I might as well just join the conversation,” Karina said. “I have met a lot of people just through her.”

As Jessica discovers new courses of life, she hopes to continue to live up to the legacy of leaders before her. Passing on her wisdom and her love, Jessica strives to build the community that she has found so welcoming.

“The people who pulled me out [of challenges] were my upperclassmen and everyone who’s older than me,” Jessica said. “So I want to give others that same support. Instead of having them fall into the pitfalls and pull them out, maybe I can build the bridge for them, so they don’t even have to fall in there at all.”