{"id":4100,"date":"2024-12-03T21:36:03","date_gmt":"2024-12-03T21:36:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=4100"},"modified":"2024-12-05T15:13:36","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T15:13:36","slug":"son-honors-parents-with-scholarship-for-international-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=4100","title":{"rendered":"Son honors parents with scholarship for international students"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jeff Wilson<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Li
Li Ma and James Lee<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

David Lee\u2019s parents, James and Li Ma, came to Southern Illinois University separately in the late-1950s in search of education and a path to a better life, and they found so much more.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is their American dream story. Their families had moved to Taiwan from China during World War II, fleeing the Communist regime,\u201d he said. \u201cThey were the first of their families to come to the United States. SIU gave them the opportunity to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The role Southern played in their journey inspired David to make a $25,000 gift, endowing the James T. and Li Ma Lee Scholarship. The funds will support a scholarship for international students in the School of Journalism and\/or the School of Education.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father came specifically for journalism. He was always intent on working at the New York Times, and that is what he did,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Li
Li Ma and James Lee are pictured in 1961.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

James came to SIU before Li Ma. He became president of the Chinese Student Association and was already well-established on campus by the time Li Ma arrived in September 1959.\u00a0 As the eldest of eight children, Li Ma came to SIU on a full scholarship for graduate school. \u00a0After meeting and falling in love, the couple wed in Carbondale\u2019s St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in 1961. When James graduated in 1962, they decided to leave for New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father knocked on the door of the New York Times asking for a job. \u00a0He took anything they offered, starting at the bottom as a copy boy and eventually becoming one of the newspaper\u2019s first Asian editors,\u201d David said. James\u2019 career at the newspapers spanned more than 30 years.<\/p>\n

Despite the success and happiness, one thing had been left unfinished in Carbondale. Li Ma was a single credit short of earning her graduate degree when the couple moved to pursue James\u2019 dream of working at the New York Times.<\/p>\n

\"James
James Lee worked at the New York Times for more than 30 years.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhen my parents left SIU, my mom was already pregnant with me\u201d, David said. \u201cShe had earned her way to SIU and was a tremendous student, always at the top of her class.\u201d<\/p>\n

After James passed away in 2012, David was inspired to reach out to SIU and see what could be done to recognize his mother\u2019s academic achievement. He worked with Kelly Mason and Dr. Yueh-Ting Lee, who was the dean of the graduate school, to find a solution.<\/p>\n

\u201cI decided to bring closure to her,\u201d David said. \u201cAfter 60 years, SIU bestowed her an honorary degree. It is beyond words. She was shocked. To this day, that degree sits on her dining room table. It meant everything to her.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Li Ma turning 90 years old next year, David thought making a gift to support other international students would be a great way to honor his parents.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you get someone who is 90? I thought this might be the greatest gift,\u201d he said. \u201cMy mom and dad\u2019s stories intertwined at SIU. Of all the places for them to meet, it was meant to be. SIU is forever in our hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n

To learn more about making a gift, visit siuf.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jeff Wilson David Lee\u2019s parents, James and Li Ma, came to Southern Illinois University separately in the late-1950s in search of education and a path to a better life, and they found so much more. \u201cThis is their American dream story. Their families had moved to Taiwan from China during World War II, fleeing … Continue reading Son honors parents with scholarship for international students<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-donor-stories","category-higher-education"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4100"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4100\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4113,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4100\/revisions\/4113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}