Mr. Michael Lee has been in Istanbul since last August, starting the school year as the Secondary Principal of I--. Already there seems to be a change in the school atmosphere, as his motto "As you have opportunity, serve one another in love".
With his inspirational speech starting off the year, I-- has provided many opportunities for the students to serve, such as the Spring Service Project going to both Romania and Bulgaria.
Mr. Lee was born in Korea, moving to the United States at a very young age. He grew up in the African American neighborhood of downtown Los Angeles. He grew up with African American people and enjoys "different" foods such as Chicken with Maple syrup. It was interesting to see how his highschool experience differed from ours. He went to one of the top highschool in the US, that ranked 6th best high school in 2009. However, he explained to us that there were a lot of problems at the school, especially with abuse and crime.
Today, he roams the I-- school grounds, becoming the most omnipresent and student-interactive principal in the history of I--. Yes, he is everywhere. Mr. Lee can be seen at lunch, during breaks, and just about everywhere else, at any random moment in time.
The story of how Mr. Lee got to I-- is interesting. He originally meant to go to a school in Nepal. However, that didn't work out, and he was offered a job here. So far, he has really enjoyed his time in Istanbul, and plans to stay for another two years.
Mr. Lee does not have a huge project for the future, but says that he would like to see a student council be formed. "It would be nice to see the students have input into what goes on at school", he says. "It would be like them taking the school back".
He might have a certain effect on people by the fact that he is the tall Korean-American Secondary Principle of I--, but he's certainly more than that. Some words that come to mind that describe him are: omnipresent, kind, caring, generous, loving. He also is very humble, as he thinks a lot about the school's future and learning from his experience here, rather than "giving" new ideas to I--.
He is a great seconday principal, and an even greater man, who hopes to see what changes God has in store for us, here at I--.
0 comments:
Post a Comment