Age : 16

Residence : Franklin Park

Family : Mother, Hong Tao Zhang; father, Li-Ming Zhang; and a sister, Catherine Zhang, 14

School : Sophomore at North Allegheny Intermediate High School

Activities/interests: Lily is a member of her school’s tennis and forensics teams. A student of piano at Carnegie Mellon University, she won a gold medal in the 2009 World Piano Competition in Cincinnati. She loves to draw, paint and write, especially stories and essays.

Noteworthy : Lily wrote Pennsylvania’s winning essay in the U.S. Peace Institute’s 24th Annual National Peace Essay Contest. Her essay, “The Post-Conflict Corruption Paradox: De-prioritizing Anticorruption to Foster Long-term Stability,” addresses governance, corruption and conflict. She and other state winners won $1,000 scholarships and will attend a weeklong program in Washington, D.C., this month with institute experts, foreign policy professionals and dignitaries.

Quote : “I really love performing, but in the end, I would rather have a career in medicine or peacekeeping because my ultimate wish in life is to help others.”

Copyright ©2026— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)