If it wasn't for some good Samaritans in St. Augustine, Charry Lee wouldn't be here right now.
Lee is originally from Korea, but has lived in the Philippines for most of her life. Lee's parents are missionaries in the Philippines and are not able to support her. They have started nine churches there. Her father is a professor currently teaching Filipino pastors and her mom runs a dorm for troubled and misbehaved high school kids from Korea. Lee attends Flagler College but has had constant financial struggles to stay in school.
While Lee was in the Philippines, she lived in the dorm run by her parents; this influenced her decision to explore the world. She wanted to go outside of Korea and the Philippines. She chose America for multiple reasons. "I became interested in English, the language itself and really wanted to master it," said Lee. The climate was a factor in Lee choosing Florida as well. Lee was looking for an special needs education program at a small private college, and Flagler College was her pick.
While Flagler College has been Lee's pick all along, it has been a huge challenge for her to stay here. There have been many people in Lee's life that have facilitated her stay. Andy Hirko is a pastor at Good News Presbyterian Church and is the head of the college ministry there. He said, “Once we heard that Charry was in trouble we bounced into action. I sent out a message on Facebook to have people donate money to help her stay in school. We had about 35 people respond. Some gave as little as $10 and one couple gave $1,000. It was really cool to see the community come together. In total we raised about $2,500. We also made an announcement through our elders at the church. Charry is an amazing person and we were blessed to help.” Hirko, an alumnus of Flagler College connected Lee to Larry Weeks, the Director of Business Services. Lee was given the chance to tell Weeks her story and explain her situation. Lee was then connected to Christine Wages of Business Services and the President of Flagler College. Lee wrote a letter to President Abare and was given a grant from school, saving her a lot of money in tuition. She is currently a resident advisor, which pays for room and board. Lee has been involved in Good News Church since she arrived at Flagler in the spring of 2008. She plays the piano for the contemporary praise team there, interacting and being involved with many people’s lives.
Jaime Spicer, a Flagler College senior sings on the praise team with Lee and said, “Charry Lee has been an amazing addition to the praise team at Good News Presbyterian Church. She is thoroughly dedicated and is extremely talented. She possesses an ear for music and simply brings joy to every practice and service in which she plays. I am so thankful that she is still at Flagler College and serves as a leader on our campus. She has a gentle spirit and determined mentality which contributes to the beautiful person that she is.”
Last Christmas marked one year since Lee had seen any of her family. She had become very homesick, but knew there was no way for her to go home. She confided this to her roommates and friends. Her fellow leaders in Intervarsity, a Christian ministry at Flagler College heard about her wanting to go to the Philippines for Christmas. The leaders got together and each wrote down an amount of how much they could contribute said Kelly Westropp, Intervarsity staff. With just a handful of leaders, they had more than enough money to send Lee to the Philippines for almost a month.
Lee spent this past summer in Korea teaching English to Korean students and making books so that she could pay for school. She ended up having to stay in a dorm meant for people with social problems and emotional or behavioral disorders. She described her room there as a tiny place, “like a prison cell.” She encountered people from all walks of life, and tried to keep to herself as much as possible to ensure her safety. She worked for a company that had her make books for Korean teachers and students to use and teach English. However, while she was there, her employer told her that they couldn’t afford to keep her on, so she continue with just the one job of teaching English. This meant that she would not make enough money over the summer to pay for school for the coming year. While Lee was still in Korea, Flagler College emailed Lee telling her that they preferred that she didn't come back to school if she couldn't pay off all of her debt, which was over $4000. Lee sent a message to a few friends on Facebook to ask for prayer, “I didn't ask them for anything else more than prayer… that God will change the hearts of people, President Abare, Christine Wages, Kenneth Russom [VP of Business Services],” She later received an email from a woman who asked if the issue was financial. Lee replied that it was. The woman replied that she would pay whatever the amount was, because she wanted Lee to be here. Lee would not disclose who this woman was, just that she was a member of Good News Church and only knew Lee as an acquaintance. "So she emailed me back, saying yeah! I will pay for you! And yeah, so she paid for me. Paid for my tuition and I got to come back as a student."
Lee is currently in her junior year at Flagler College and plans to graduate in the spring of 2011.
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