At her doctoral defense, someone asked how she wanted to be addressed: “Dr. Lee”? While meaningful, the name felt common—like Kim or Park in Korea. She wanted something personal, playful, and uniquely hers. So she chose Dr. Lemon: still starting with “L,” but with a story behind it.

She’s always loved the saying, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” Studying, working, and living abroad brought plenty of lemons—visa stress, cultural barriers, quiet exclusion, uncertainty. But through these challenges, she learned to turn sour moments into purpose.

There were countless challenges: navigating unknown systems, managing immigration status, learning to speak up in unfamiliar contexts. She often wonders how she got through it all so young.

Moments that shaped me:

• As a freshman in a leadership program, she was the only international student. While others debated with confidence, she smiled quietly, unsure how to join the conversation.

• Years later, in her first professional meeting, she wanted to contribute but froze. She smiled through the discomfort, then cried in her office. Even after a decade abroad, belonging still felt complicated.

What changed? The things she once saw as weaknesses—her accent, cultural differences, being “the only one”—became her greatest strengths.

Today, she has lived the experience, studied it, researched it, and now practices it every day. She supports international and AAPI students and equips campuses to do the same.

Because she has lived through those quiet struggles, she:

• sees them,

• makes space for them, and

• builds systems where they don’t have to struggle alone.

When new colleagues join, she leads with warmth and empathy—because she knows exactly what it feels like to be out of place.

🍋 When life gave her lemons, she built belonging. Now she helps campuses do the same.