"My Story Matters" | Liz Zhou '22

By Liz Zhou '22

Liz Zhou is a member of the Wellesley College soccer team from McLean. Va. and a student-athlete representative on PERA's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee. 

Soccer has been an integral part of my life ever since I was young. My dream as a child was to play in the FIFA World Cup -- dream big right? However, around high school, my love for the sport vanished. My club team focused on winning games and getting players recruited to top Division I schools, but I knew that path wasn't what I wanted. 

As I traveled from one ID camp to another, from one college campus to another, Wellesley stood out from the rest because the people I met on the soccer team were genuine, hard-working, and so welcoming. They all shared one very important thing in common: they played soccer because they loved the sport and loved each other, not just to win games! Wellesley was the perfect place for me to challenge myself academically while having the ability to explore other interests in addition to playing soccer.

My experience as an Asian-American athlete in Wellesley Athletics may not be one that is shared among other POC athletes. Having grown up in a predominately white city, my twin sister and I were always the only Asians and one of very few people of color in the soccer community. I never really felt like I fit in with my white teammates partially due to cultural differences, especially in upbringing, but also because I just didn't look like any of them. This lack of belonging played a big role in why my love for the sport disappeared through high school.

"Increasing racial diversity works to provide everyone with an inclusive environment and will hopefully facilitate the same sense of belonging that I gained from the soccer team."

My first year at Wellesley, the soccer team was almost a third Asian-American; this helped facilitate a sense of acceptance that I had not felt in any of my previous athletic communities. Although there were other aspects of my college experience that helped me build a community and embrace my heritage, the Asian-American representation on the soccer team was the most impactful. Knowing how important that sense of representation was to me, I would like to see Wellesley Athletics teams actively recruit more POC athletes and hire more POC administrative staff. Increasing racial diversity works to provide everyone with an inclusive environment and will hopefully facilitate the same sense of belonging that I gained from the soccer team.

The creation of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee has been a step towards addressing this current lack of racial diversity, as well as other barriers that exist in the Wellesley Athletics community. In soccer, we are required to wear shin guards and proper cleats. Although it doesn't seem like much, a good pair of cleats costs upwards of a hundred dollars, and in my experience, they only last a year. Granted, I tend to wear mine out faster than most! 

With Wellesley being a DIII school, the burden of purchasing personal equipment can fall on students. Having to regularly replace gear adds up and makes it difficult for some players to continue the sport they love. Although some individuals are able to find a job on campus, balancing a job on top of classes and a full season is challenging. This financial burden is also not exclusive to just athletes. The DEI Committee started a project to make PE equipment free to students, which helps lessen the load, but does not completely resolve the issues of socio economic hardships related to athletics for all.

I am grateful for the opportunity to make my voice heard and I view this project as a form of acceptance that there are still issues within Wellesley Athletics that need to be addressed. Making institutional changes regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion can sometimes be a slow process, but I hope that as a member of DEI and of SAAC this fall, I can continue to facilitate projects promoting all-around inclusion in Wellesley Athletics.

Wellesley Athletics strives for excellence at the conference, regional, and national levels, while providing opportunities for students to achieve their potential and learn the values of discipline, leadership, critical thinking, and responsibility to oneself and others.