November 15th, 2019
The UBC Faculty of Education extends our gratitude to Suzanne Lee’s family who have generously established an endowment in the memory of (their beloved mother, grandmother, and great grandmother) Suzanne Lee. The Suzanne Lee Teachers’ Education Bursary enables bursaries for women who wish to pursue teacher education. The family received their philanthropic goals from Suzanne Lee who during her lifetime, inspired many people including her daughter Pat Quan.
Raised in a third generation (Chinese) Canadian family with six other siblings, Suzanne was no stranger to discrimination and restrictions in her formative years. From not having an opportunity to attend post-secondary schooling to not being allowed a professional job as well as facing hardships in finding rental accommodation, the list of hindrances in achieving success were never ending. Growing up, she was a tomboy and really loved playing baseball. She was the only girl in the family to take university preparation in high school as she really wanted to be a teacher. But the family diverted their limited funds in that era towards her brothers’ educations, leaving Suzanne’s dream unfulfilled.
After getting married, Suzanne moved to Prince Rupert returning to Vancouver after a few years where she was a home maker until the untimely passing of her husband at the age of forty nine. In charge of raising two children all by herself with no prior job experience nor any formal education, she faced a herculean task to get a job – rejected from even entry level retail positions because of her age. Eventually family friends offered her a clerical position to start. Despite a lack of opportunities, Suzanne had great potential. She was ambitious and progressed into the head position of managing the payroll for the entire company requiring detailed knowledge of multiple union contracts and executive compensation policies. With a commendable aptitude for math and finance, she conservatively invested and was able to retire at the age of 60.
Through this bursary, Suzanne Lee is fulfilling her childhood dream of being a teacher vicariously through the eyes of many future teachers at the Faculty of Education at UBC. The Teacher Education Bursary named in her honour will enable and empower marginalized female students every year to an education. Suzanne’s daughter, Mrs. Pat Quan, emphasizes that if you help a woman, especially a mother, it creates far reaching ripples in the community. This is the incredible story of Suzanne Lee and how she has an impact on society today and will continues to do so through the Suzanne Lee Teacher Education Bursary. Suzanne Lee Teacher’s Education Bursary is offered to female students in need in the UBC Faculty of Education.
