Get to know Bee Lee, who joined the Department of French, Hispanic and Italian Studies (FHIS) in August 2022 as the department’s first Community Engagement Coordinator.
“I work with other units within UBC to enhance the quality and the quantity of experiential learning opportunities that our students can choose from.”
What is your role?
At FHIS, we aim to enrich the experiential learning components that are integrated into our courses and the student experience. As Community Engagement Coordinator, my role consists of having a deep understanding and complete overview of the relevant opportunities that are available, and to identify the needs and ways to maximize their potential.
While doing so, I work closely with other units within UBC such as the Centre for Community Engaged Learning, Arts Co-op, and Go Global, as well as with external partners to enhance the quality and the quantity of the opportunities that our students can choose from. Active community outreach to create new partnerships domestically and internationally is also a fun bit of my work, as well as supporting te curriculum-related tasks and processes.
Besides supporting the FHIS programs, I wear two other hats in this position that are more specific to the Francophonie: one for the Centre de la Francophonie (where I work on coordinating events and administration), and another one for the Teacher Education Office (where I support student recruitment and admissions for the BEd French specialization). I hope to connect the dots and create a complementary and efficient platform for the three areas, so we can best promote and support the Francophonie in its minority context in BC.
How did you get involved with Francophone language and culture in your personal life?
“Immersing myself in a completely new culture and environment had frustrating moments, but it was also filled with wonders and adventures that later had a great impact on my self-growth.”
When I was 16 years old, my first trip to Europe left quite a strong impression on me. Somehow I knew it was the next step I would take after completing high school in South Korea, so that’s what I did. I moved to France, studied French extensively for a year, and spent my first year of college at École des beaux-arts de Limoges to study Fine Arts. Immersing myself in a completely new culture and environment had frustrating moments, but it was also filled with wonders and adventures that later had a great impact on my self-growth. I guess the seed of the Francophonie must have been planted then somewhere in me.
Despite having loved living in France, I moved to Amsterdam after my first year of college to complete the next three years of my BFA degree. Afterwards, my life took me to various places in the world where I ventured further and further away from the Francophonie, needless to mention the French language.
It was only about five years ago when I moved to Vancouver that, by pure coincidence, I landed a registrar position at a Francophone college downtown. I had not expected to work in the French language in Vancouver, nor had I felt ready for it, but I tried … and that was our retrouvailles. In 2020, I joined UBC’s Teacher Education Office to help recruit and support prospective teacher candidates who wanted to become French specialists. And after that, I joined FHIS.
Although the Francophonie came back into my life in a much more complex form within a minority context, I am glad to embrace all the challenges that come with it.
What is your favourite thing about working at FHIS so far?
Being on the 7th floor because of the view. 😜 Next to that, I love having daily interactions in French—voluntarily or “by force”. Either way, I am grateful. I also tremendously appreciate being exposed to other Romance languages, different accents, and such cultural diversity. I am looking forward to the moment my brain finally switches on to pick up other Romance languages and to gladly dive into them.
Prior to joining FHIS, I had a pleasure of working with various members from the FHIS team in my past position with the Faculty of Education, and I particularly appreciated the warm and joyful team spirit and atmosphere. The Francophonie was also clearly one of the essential factors that led me to transition (or grow) into this current role, which felt like a natural step to take.
What do you like to do for fun on your spare time?
I am an overly serious person, so I don’t necessarily do things for fun … but I do find great joy and inspiration in any opportunities that allow me learn and observe other cultures. In an ideal world, I would travel whenever possible, but in reality, I find solace in watching documentary films (ARTE production!), especially those featuring ordinary people with extraordinary stories from around the world. Those from Central Asia are my favourites these days.
What is one fun fact about yourself?
I don’t drink alcohol and I am an introvert. Hope I’m still fun anyway. 😜
