For Si Duk Lee (’59, M.S. Agriculture, ’62 PhD. Dairy Production/Manufacturing) graduate school is not just an extension of undergraduate studies. “You need to be prepared to work harder, longer and with more focus,” said Lee, who endowed a fellowship that provides financial support to graduate students pursuing degrees at AGNR.
“Expect more of yourself,” he said.
He is perhaps more qualified to make that declaration than most. To complete his graduate studies at UMD, Lee had to excel in ways far beyond most people’s expectations of themselves.
As a young teen, Lee escaped the brutal North Korean regime and fled to South Korea with his family. When he arrived at UMD a decade later, he had very little money, no friends or mentors and limited English. In addition to a considerable language barrier, Lee had to contend with a new climate, new cuisine, and the challenges of learning to provide for himself on a daily basis.
“I’ll never forget how scared and intimidated I was when I first arrived in the U.S.” Lee recalled, “I was braving this new frontier by myself, but instead of wondering and worrying about how I could communicate better, I focused on improving my skills. Instead of stressing out about how I would eat, I simply did what was necessary to feed myself and my young family.”
Lee remembers the rigor and challenges of those times with a mix of humor, fondness and aversion. “If I never see a slice of bologna again, that would be just fine,” he joked, but then delighted in the memory of learning to play the American sport softball as well as tennis, and in working on the Campus Farm, mucking out cattle barns to support himself.
“We called it ‘working in the laboratory,” because it sounded more appealing,” he said. “But it paid the bills, and I got fresh ice cream once in a while.”
Focus and determination propelled Lee through those early days at UMD as he completed his PhD., attributes he believes all graduate students need, and they served him well during a 34-year career at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
But Lee recognizes that no student can succeed in a vacuum, and he credits his success in part to the support and mentorship he received at UMD.
“My first advisor, Dr. Richard Davis, was a tough and passionate task master,” Lee said. “He left an indelible imprint on me. Beyond encouraging me to constantly challenge myself, he was mindful of my circumstance and was both resourceful and instrumental in finding ways for me to fund my studies. Through a combination of work/study, grants and fellowships as well as sponsoring my U.S. citizenship, it’s difficult to imagine how I would have achieved my goals without his encouragement and the backing of UMD.”
For Lee, that bond between mentor and student begins with a commitment to human connection. He encourages all students to foster personal relationships to enhance their social skills and advance their professional development. Lee wholeheartedly believes that opening up to faculty and colleagues about his experiences and challenges facilitated their understanding of his circumstances and aspirations. That recognition, in turn, helped them assemble financial resources as well as the emotional boost he needed to achieve his goals. Lee says that the Terrapin support network made all the difference in his life.
“My life has taken me places I never could have dreamed of as a young kid. The inspiration for establishing an endowment is to express my gratitude for the opportunities Professor Davis and UMD afforded me.”
For those who are interested in supporting AGNR, please contact:
Carolyn Fernandez
Assistant Dean for External Relations
AGNR, University of Maryland
301.405.7733 | cfernanc@umd.edu
