ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ

The Clayton High senior is not the type to brag about her world-class piano skills.

So she keeps the dozen or so awards well hidden.

"I don't feel the need to display them," Mills-Lee said. "They serve me well just being inside my brain."

Mills-Lee is an accomplished classical pianist, among a host of other things. She has won numerous competitions and is well-known in musical circles across the state.

But she rarely talks about her talents.

A soccer player and a member of the Greyhounds swimming team, Mills-Lee quietly goes about her business in the musical world with little or no fanfare.

In fact, only her family and closest friends are aware of her immense skill.

"She doesn't talk about it much, she's just mentioned it a few times over the years," Clayton senior forward and good friend Lauren Hill said. "I've gotten more and more information over time. But she's not the bragging type."

Clayton soccer coach Tom Redmond has worked closely with Mills-Lee the past three-plus seasons. Yet he wasn't even aware that he had an award-winning pianist on his team.

"I feel embarrassed that I didn't know that," Redmond said, "But that's her. The things she accomplishes, she does it for herself, not to impress anyone or anything like that."

Mills-Lee began playing at age 5 and was a natural. She has taken private lessons from renowned instructor Katarina Stojicevic over the past 12 years and now performs at an extremely high level.

"Her love for music is something very intimate and very personal," Stojicevic said. "It serves as a time for her to vent from everything else in her life. Music is a great outlet and that's what she uses it for."

Stojicevic has taught more than 300 students across the globe and said Mills-Lee is among the most talented she has ever instructed.

Mills-Lee has garnered the highest rating at the St. Louis Area Music Teachers Festival 12 years in a row. The federation offers 19 different levels and Mills-Lee is at the top tier. Twice, she has earned scholarships to attend high-level camps.

"If she wanted to pursue music as a career, she'd be very successful at it," Stojicevic said.

Her mother, Monica Mills, agrees, "If her heart were totally into just music, she would really excel."

Yet Mills-Lee isn't pursuing a life as a musician. To her, the piano serves as an outlet. Its main purpose is to help her sharpen her academic and athletic skills.

"I love the piano, not because I love playing the piano," Mills-Lee said. "I love it because of all the things it's helped me with. Honestly, it's proved to be so beneficial academically. If I devoted as much time to it as I have other things, you'd see me in the big leagues of piano.

"That's just not what I want to do."

Mills-Lee remembers mastering "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" as her first piano conquest while in first grade. Now she rips through challenging pieces like Arabesque No. 1 by Claude Debussy with little difficulty.

"It's just beautiful and so fast and so flowing," Mills-Lee said.

Mills-Lee carries a weighted 4.2 grade point average. She can't remember the last time she recorded anything other than an 'A' in the classroom.

On the pitch, she serves an an anchor in the midfield. The Greyhounds sport carry state title aspirations into the Class 2 postseason tournament later this month.

Mills-Lee can play several positions and Redmond said that versatility makes her invaluable. Plus, her work ethic inspires others.

"She's a great role model for all of our young players," Redmond said. "The way she carries herself, the way she speaks. She's terrific."

Mills-Lee, who also serves as managing editor of the school newspaper, will attend the University of Texas to study statistical and data science. She will continue to play the piano and hopes to compete in intramural or club soccer, as well.

But for now, Mills-Lee is focused on ending her high school athletic career in style.

"I'm excited, we have a really good chance," Mills-Lee said. "Our team is such a good group. We're all really close and that chemistry is big part of why we're doing so well."