Gen Z Highlight: Lily Zhou
Gen Z: We Are The Future had the pleasure of interviewing Lily Zhou, who is running for the US Senate in 2022.
Lily encompasses the American Dream – she was born and raised in China and legally immigrated to the US in hopes for freedom and a better life. Arriving in the US with no money and not speaking a word of English, her work ethic drove her to become a serial entrepreneur. Lily was determined in her career and her hard work paid off. She successfully started and sold three businesses – Lily built her first restaurant when she was 23. Outside of the business sphere, Lily has also done diplomatic work. For the Kyoto Prize Symposium, she collaborated with former heads of state and was a planning committee member. Fundraising for charities was also part of her job scope, as well as authoring a book and speaking at conferences around the world, such as the Global Women Economic Forum. One great feat from 2009 was assisting 41 teachers, parents, and students “quarantined” by the Chinese government return home. Lily became passionate about education reform for future generations after teaching global business and management at San Diego State University. She is currently working as the community director for the San Diego Family Circle Adult Day Health Center and as a real estate broker in San Diego.
Working in financial services 20 years ago, she interacted with a lot of people daily. People asked her if she was running for city council, but at the time, Lily was not familiar with the political scene. This was not an option for her, especially because Lily is not an argumentative person. However, this changed over time. Lily spent a lot of time volunteering for non-profit organizations and was asked to run for city council again two years ago. This time, she decided to give it a go as no Asian woman had ever been on the city council before. Even though she was asked to hire professionals to help her in her campaign, Lily decided not to, instead opting to learn by herself. She was only around 3000 votes short of making it to the general election.
As a mother of three, Lily hopes to make positive changes for future generations, which is why she has decided to run for the senate. Lily wants to empower the youth and get them interested in politics. Her current campaign team are all members of youth – high school students, including her marketing director. Everyone can learn from Lily’s campaign and mobilizing the youth is incredibly important. Part of Lily’s core mission of her campaign is tax cuts for the middle/working class in the US. After teaching MBA students at San Diego State University, Lily realized that current students are not equipped to adapt to the fast-paced global economy and students are not being taught the soft skills they need to compete in the future. Lily saw that the education system is very traditional and does not evolve with the times. Lily believes that experience is not as significant as passion and having the mindset to accomplish goals. She is inspired by Mother Teresa and Elon Musk and aspires to be like them.
In November, when Lily decided to kickstart her campaign, she decided to make it all about the people she is doing this for and not the party. Lily is aware that a lot of people’s income is going towards taxes, which she believes is wrong. She attributes her achievements to the fact that she has no fear and is not afraid of taking risks. Lily does not see the world as grim, even when there is chaos and uncertainty – she asks herself how she can make the world better for everyone during these dire circumstances. Running this campaign gives Lily a platform to make change and have a voice.
It will be interesting to see how Lily’s visions play out in the future and what feats she can achieve. When asked about how to advise the youth, Lily said that everyone should have a purpose and everyone should do what they are passionate about. What Lily loves about Gen Z is that they are fun and full of hope and she hopes to steer them in the right way. As an Asian-American woman, Lily will continue to inspire others, especially those passionate about politics and making change, through her campaign and work.
You can find out more about Lily by exploring her website here and looking through her social media platforms here.
Citations:
Image: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/story/2020-01-09/lily-zhou-san-diego-city-council-district-1
