2018 Leader: Christine Lee

Christine Lee has a passion for improving the lives of Asian American students on campus. The senior from Memphis, Tenn. currently serves as president of the Asian Students Association.

One of her biggest projects has been pushing Duke to create an Asian American studies program, and she helped form the Asian American Studies Working Group in pursuit of this goal. Although the program has not yet been created, Duke Student Government passed a resolution in support of a “fully operational department, tenure-track faculty and an academic major" dedicated to the subject. 

Lee—who is pursuing a major in public policy and minors in Asian and Middle Eastern studies and history—has also been heavily involved in other organizations dedicated to empowering Asian Americans. She works as a program coordinator for the East Coast Asian American Student Union and has served as director of the Triangle Area Asian American Student Conference for the past two years. 

In her last semester at Duke, Lee said she hopes to work on preserving the memories of marginalized groups on campus and making sure students can learn about them. 

Editor's note: This profile is part of our new initiative called The Chronicle 18. We are highlighting 18 people and groups who are defining what it means to be at Duke this year. Read about the project and more of our selections.