Charlotte Mount met Eddie Zhou at MedStar Capitals Iceplex in 2023. An only child, he had Olympic-size dreams and a passion for science, technology, engineering and math. They bonded over toe loops and academics.
“I really admired how he could balance being strong in school with being one of the best skaters I’ve ever met,” says Mount, an Arlington resident who’s now 16. “When he came to skate, he would obviously compartmentalize and focus on training, but then he would also be carrying his science fair poster board with him.”
On Jan. 29, 2025, Zhou was heading home from the National Development Camp in Wichita, Kansas, with his parents when an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with their American Airlines Flight 5342 commuter jet, killing everyone on both aircraft. He was 16.
About the Fund
Almost a year later, the application window for the first Edward “Eddie” Zhou STEM and Figure Skating Enrichment Fund award opened on on Jan. 20, 2026. Mount, a student at the Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, worked with the Arlington Community Foundation (ACF), Zhou’s uncle and two cousins, and the local skating community to create the fund last February. Although her friend’s dreams were cut short, she was determined that his legacy wouldn’t be.
The fund will provide $1,000 annually to a Northern Virginia middle or high school skater, preferably with financial need, pursuing skating or STEM enrichment outside their regular training and schooling. For instance, recipients may use the scholarship to help pay for a STEM camp or class, or a figure skating seminar.
So far, the fund has raised $14,000, guaranteeing 14 years of awards. Applications are due March 2; winners will be announced two weeks later.
“The duality of the STEM and skating…was the perfect way to capture the two sides of his life,” Mount says of her friend. “I wanted to be able to see that legacy carried through skaters who also care about school and STEM in particular since that was his field of interest.”
Keeping Zhou’s Memory Alive
The idea for the fund came to Mount one night as she was sitting at her desk, feeling “completely devastated.” After the crash, she saw GoFundMe campaigns raising money for victims’ parents and siblings. The Zhous’ neighbors launched one, raising more than $42,000 in support of the Zhous’ extended family.
“Because Eddie and his immediate family all passed away, I identified a gap in the stories that were forming about the lives lost [because there was no one to speak for them],” Mount says. “I really wanted to see my friend represented in the same way that all of these victims of the crash were, and then I also wanted both sides of him to be seen by the world.”
She emailed ACF, recalling how the organization had helped her mom, Arlington real estate agent Liz Lord, launch the Cold Capital Fund in 2018 to provide financial assistance to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy who want to use cold caps to keep their hair.
Helping Arlington residents establish targeted fundraising and charitable giving efforts is part of ACF’s mission. Since 1991, it has served as an independent philanthropic organization that manages more than $5 million in annual grants and scholarships for Arlington residents.
By the time Mount reached out, the foundation had already responded to the plane crash by helping to establish the DCA Together Relief Fund.
“As a community foundation, we’re here to serve as this platform for philanthropy,” says Christy Cole, ACF’s vice president and chief philanthropy officer. “We have the infrastructure to set up a fund like this one.”
‘A Very Beautiful Effort’
To create the fund in Zhou’s memory, Mount sought support from the Skating Club of Northern Virginia and the Washington Figure Skating Club, as well as his surviving family. It took some legwork.
“Unfortunately, I had no idea how to get in contact [with the family]. I only knew him and his parents,” she says. In reading articles about Zhou, she saw the name of her friend’s piano teacher in a New York Times story about the Zhou family.
“I was able to communicate to her this now communitywide effort to honor Eddie,” Mount says. “She put me in contact with his uncle and cousins.” Today, the cousins serve on the fund’s advisory committee. They’re two of about nine members—the rest of whom are mainly parents of skaters—and will determine the award winners.
“[Charlotte] did an amazing job of coordinating all of the parties involved in this,” Cole says. “There are many people twice her age who have difficulty at this level of coordination. It’s been a beautiful effort. A lot of people had this desire to honor Eddie and make a difference.”
“I think if he could see what everyone has done for him, I think he would be proud,” Mount adds.
Resilience and Joy
Mount remembers Zhou as equal parts friend and role model. She’d ask him for help with chemistry as often as she emulated his techniques on the ice. “He would sometimes give me study tools, but also skating tips. He was just one of those people who could do it all,” she says.
But what she admired most about Zhou was his resilience. “He was working on his triple axel, and that’s something that you can’t do in a matter of weeks,” she says of the element considered to be one of figure skating’s most challenging jumps. “Eddie was flying through the air. You got to watch the progression over time and see how he just never gave up because he wanted it that badly. He got up every time he fell down and got better each time.”
She wants people to also remember the artistry he brought to his choreography and the spirit he brought to his routines. “I wanted to be a fun skater like he was, while also working so hard all the time,” Mount says. “He was definitely a magnetic person. I always describe him as one of the most joyous people I’ve ever met.”