Sakai Lee is a native Ithacan whose parents are Cornell alums. Frank DiMeo/University Photography
Sakai Lee, a pre-med senior in human development in the College of Human Ecology, believed that the incarcerated teen-agers in the area could benefit from candid and open discussions about AIDS, sickle cell anemia and other pertinent health problems. So Lee, as treasurer of Cornell's pre-med group, Black Bio-Medical & Technical Association (BBMTA), decided to do something about it.
Lee secured a $2,500 grant to co-found a program to teach these health issues to incarcerated male teen-agers at the Louis Gossett Jr. Residential Center in Lansing. For a year, she and other BBMTA students planned and presented bi-weekly classes to small groups of the teens.
"The young men were really dynamic and yearned to learn," said Lee, 21, a born and bred Ithacan with Cornell in her blood. The daughter of alumni Denise Lee, Hum. Ec. '73, and Abraham Lee, Arch. '75, of Ithaca, Sakai Lee spent her childhood attending a multitude of Cornell events.
Interested in medicine as far back as she can remember, Lee said she came to Cornell because she couldn't pass up a world renowned university just because it was in her backyard.
"And I was right," said Lee. "I definitely had a great experience here, although now there's so much I wish I had taken advantage of."
Yet, it's hard to say she didn't get the most out of the opportunities she explored at Cornell. In addition to her work with the BBMTA, Lee's been a peer advisor for the Human Ecology Mentoring in Higher Education Program, secretary for the Association for Students of Color in Human Ecology and a student in the Human Ecology Urban Semester Program in New York City ("a fabulous experience!" she says), working at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center in the pediatric AIDS clinic, the burn center and in a laboratory.
In addition to making the dean's list most semesters, Lee has been a counselor for the after-school program at the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC) for seven years. While at Cornell, she's arranged for GIAC students to attend numerous Cornell activities, such as sporting events, Kwanzaa celebrations and conferences.
"I wanted these children to have the same kind of exposure to Cornell as I did," said Lee, who just received the Florence Halpern Prize for "innovation, creativity and interest in social change" and an Outstanding Senior Award from the College of Human Ecology. She also is the recipient of a Cornell Tradition Fellowship, Flemmie Kittrell Scholarship, National Collegiate Minority Leadership Award, SUNY Empire State Minority Honors Scholarship and a Cornell Women's Club of Ithaca Academic Scholar Award.
These days, Lee also is holding down two additional part-time jobs, working between 20 and 25 hours a week. In addition to working at GIAC, she's managing a 40-workstation computer center on campus and helping students in Human Ecology's Career Development Center.
Although Lee has prepared for medical school with programs at the Cayuga Medical Center, University of Connecticut Health Center, Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, she's decided to postpone her medical school plans for now.
"I still very much enjoy medicine and the practice of healing and helping to make people feel better, but I would like to explore other career interests and see more of what's out there in the world before I make a final decision."
In the meantime, Lee has been accepted into Teach For America. As a science teacher, she would work in a public school in Washington, D.C., for two years.
"Because of my Cornell education, I feel qualified for a lot of different positions in many different areas. Now I just have to explore my world of options to decide what I would like to do with it."
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