Mark Lee with his parents, Dr. Sue Hallowell Lee and Rod Lee.
Mark Lee honors his mother’s legacy of pediatric service by creating a maternal and child health scholarship that supports rural communities and future leaders.
Mark Lee, BSPH ’95, MS ’97 (environmental sciences and engineering) didn’t plan on majoring in public health when he came to UNC, but what began as a detour turned out to be a calling. Like his father, Lee was initially drawn to physics, but he found himself looking for something that felt more meaningful once coursework turned theoretical. On advice from a professor, he found his way to the School of Public Health and a discipline that combined science with service and impact.
“I took to it like a duck to water,” he said. “Being able to take the math and point things in a direction that can really make a difference and help people — that was a need I hadn’t realized I had.”
A drive to be of service, exemplified by his mother, Dr. Sue Hollowell Lee, runs deep in Lee’s family. She began medical school with three children under the age of six, completing an accelerated program and launching a pediatric career defined by compassion.
“She works her tail off, and she’s crazy smart,” said Lee. “But being a doctor was never about recognition; it was this almost obsessive need to be of service to other people in her community.”
Dr. Lee focused her practice on children with complex needs, especially those in communities underserved by pediatric medicine. When she returned to her home county in rural North Carolina, she opened its first pediatric clinic, even though she knew it would barely break even. The clinic she started is Pamlico County’s lone federally qualified health center (FQHC) providing comprehensive and affordable care to residents. She would go on to found Heartworks, a nonprofit organization with a mission focused on addressing the underserved mental and physical health needs of youth and their families in Pamlico County and surrounding areas. The organization offers afterschool and summer programs to more than 250 students each year, among other programs.
To honor his mother’s inspiring story and contribute to a legacy of service, Lee endowed the Dr. Sue Hollowell Lee Scholarship in Maternal and Child Health at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, noting the pride he feels in doing so while she is still actively engaged.
“Scholarship in maternal and child health will serve the same things she spent her life trying to serve,” said Lee. “It’s going to help more kids have a shot at a productive and happy life.”
He hopes the scholarship can also bring attention to the challenges that continue to face rural communities, both in N.C. and elsewhere, and to entities like Heartworks and organizations like FQHCs that develop solutions to improve health and well-being.
By establishing this fund, Mark Lee is investing in the future of public health and the drive to uplift underserved communities, ensuring one woman’s extraordinary legacy continues to inspire generations to come.
———
Contact the advancement team at UNC Gillings to discuss how you can build an enduring legacy at our School: email.sph@unc.edu
.jpg)
