Grace Tin Yan Lee, an English major from Hong Kong who completed her undergraduate studies here in three years, is BYU-Hawaii's June 2007 valedictorian.
Lee, who also has a minor in International Cultural Studies-Humanities, explained it was "challenging" for her to attend BYU-Hawaii because at first her father, Cecil Wing Chuen Lee, "didn't want me to come, mostly because he thought I could do as well in Hong Kong and he didn't want me to leave the family; but I wanted to study creative writing, and my mother, Liana Lee, supported my decision."
"After I got to Laie, I got homesick. It took me about a year, really, to fully find myself at home here," said Lee, who has worked as a tutor in the Reading and Writing Center, and most recently served as the managing editor of the BYU-Hawaii student newspaper, Ke Alaka'i.
Lee also recently went to Utah with three other students to attend a literature conference, where she presented a paper on Kurt Vonnegut and his book, Slaughterhouse-Five. "I don't think this type of opportunity would have been available to me if I had studied in Hong Kong," she said. "Here, the professors are really close to me and very personal. They have offered me a lot of opportunities that allowed to do something like this."
Following her graduation on June 23, Lee plans to return to BYU-Hawaii to do her OPT — Optional Practical Training — for a semester "with English professors so I can actually handle and teach a class." Then she will take some time to prepare for graduate school in 2008.
"I plan to go on for my master's and Ph.D. because eventually I want to become a college professor like the ones here who have changed and really helped me. I want to teach in Hong Kong, not only because there are more opportunities for people who can speak English in Asia — it's a great advantage for me — but also because English education in Hong Kong is focused on grammar. It was when I came here that I was exposed to literature, and that really changed my life. It became something I love and feel very passionate about. I would like to bring that to college and high school students in Hong Kong."
She added she has a "lot of favorite authors, but poetry is something that I value a lot. It often touches me. Pablo Neruda, the Nobel Prize winner, is probably my favorite poet. I also like a lot of the Romantic period writers."
Lee said she worked very hard as a BYU-Hawaii student, but is still a little surprised to be the class valedictorian. "At times I would doubt myself, but my friends would tell me it's the people you care about that know you have done your best."
For example, when she went back to Hong Kong last Christmas, her father — who is bishop of the Hong Kong Aberdeen Ward — said in a Family Home Evening setting, "Three years ago I opposed Grace's going [to BYU-Hawaii], but now I can see how she has obviously changed. I can now say that even bishops make mistakes."
"I don't think he made a mistake," Lee continued, "because even if I stayed in Hong Kong I would have been blessed; but because I had the choice to come here, it makes me feel even more strongly how the Lord has blessed us. I really like BYU-Hawaii."