Donnie Lee (right), retired PCC Business Dean and husband of the late Karen Lee, presented recent PCC radiography graduate Thomas Bullock with the inaugural Karen Lee Memorial Scholarship. Bullock plans to continue his studies at Pitt before moving on for a bachelor’s degree in health care management.
WINTERVILLE—A scholarship created in memory of Pitt Community College Radiography Program Director Karen Lee was awarded for the first time earlier this spring.
During the radiography program’s annual pinning ceremony in May, Lee’s husband, Donnie, presented student Thomas M. Bullock III with the inaugural Karen Lee Memorial Scholarship worth $1,000. The funding will go toward Bullock’s educational expenses at PCC.
A Beaufort resident, Bullock received an associate degree in radiography during PCC’s graduation ceremony last month. He will take college transfer courses at Pitt this fall before concentrating on MRI coursework in the spring. His goal is to complete a bachelor’s degree in health care management.
In addition to being a Dean’s List student (GPA between 3.5 and 4.0), Bullock was awarded the Lee Scholarship based on an essay he wrote detailing the qualities and traits he possesses that will improve patient care in a present-day health care setting.
Family and friends of Lee created a memorial scholarship with the PCC Foundation shortly after she passed away unexpectedly last year at age 53. A 1982 graduate of PCC’s radiography program, she taught at her alma mater for 26 years, after working eight years in the Radiography Department at Pitt County Memorial Hospital (now Vidant Medical Center).
Described by her students as “exceedingly caring, encouraging, considerate and professional,” Lee is remembered for making every effort to provide them with what they needed for success in college and their future careers. The lifelong Pitt County resident was a two-time recipient of Pitt’s Joseph E. Downing Award for Excellence in Teaching (1998 and 2015) and was also nominated for the prestigious honor in 1991 and 2000.
Donnie Lee, a former PCC faculty member and retired dean of the college’s Business Division, was married to Karen for 31 years. He helped create the Lee Memorial Scholarship in the hope that his wife’s love for radiography education would live on through the award.
PCC Vice President of Institutional Advancement Susan Nobles said the Karen Lee Memorial Scholarship will continue to be awarded to a second-year radiography student each spring. She said contributions to the scholarship can be made to the PCC Foundation at P.O. Drawer 7007, Greenville, N.C. 27835.