Get to Know Miss Lee!
Miss Lee joined the Clapham faculty this fall as our new Class One Teacher.
- Tell us about your family and younger years. What was it like growing up in your family?
I grew up the youngest of three, in a small tightknit family, surrounded by lots of cousins, uncles, aunts, and grandparents. We spent our summers taking road trips up and down the East Coast. Some of my favorite memories were spent in Maine, climbing big rocks and eating as many lobsters as I could crack. At home, my afternoons and summers were spent helping my mom at her Montessori school, at my dad’s bike shop, and eating a lot of Jersey pizza.
- Where did you go to school? Was your journey to your major short and straight, or long and winding?
Having grown up glued to my mother’s hip, following her through her own teaching journey, my answer to the proverbial question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”, was always “a teacher”. By the time college decisions came around, I considered pursuing a career in fashion design, but ultimately chose to go to Wheaton College and receive my degree in Elementary Education. While my journey to my major was fairly straightforward, it would take many winding years until I would truly find my passion and conviction for education. It is that journey that led me here at Clapham!
- What is your favorite time of day and what makes it so?
My favorite time of the day is rarely experienced: the hours between 2 and 3am when I might suddenly find myself the most creative at the sewing machine, completely immersed in the book I am reading, or deep in Scripture. At that moment, there’s no better feeling than knowing everyone else is sleeping, and it’s just me and God.
- Tell us about one of your hobbies and how you got started.
I love to sew! After taking a home economics class in middle school, aptly named “Sew Much More”, I’ve had a faithful friend in my Singer sewing machine. While I’ve tried my hand at sewing my own clothes, which does not always turn out as I envision, I find the greatest joy in altering my clothes. There are very few items in my closet that haven’t been tailored or completely changed in some way. Believe it or not, God teaches me something different with each project, usually around 2 to 3am, just after everything has descended into chaos and is about to take an upward turn into glory. Yes, I am the person who shows up to every church retreat with a perfectly tailored mass-produced t-shirt.
- What is one of your hidden talents?
I am fairly good at the game “Six Degrees of Separation.” Essentially, give me two actors and I’ll try to connect them through films/TV they’ve appeared in, within six jumps.
- Share a favorite book. Why is it a favorite? What are you currently reading?
Pride and Prejudice, hands down. Jane Austen is hilariously witty without forcing you to laugh and her writing has spawned a world of film adaptations that I love debating which is the best (by myself), though I am biased because 2005 Keira Knightley’s Elizabeth was my first introduction to P&P. More than anything, it’s just one of the greatest love stories of all time.
I am currently (re)reading The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Two Towers specifically. I devoured them during Covid and recently felt the urge to read it again. So, I bought the one volume version and have carried it all around Illinois, to Los Angeles, then New York, and back. Well worth the extra 4 pounds of carry-on luggage weight.
- What has the Lord been teaching you lately?
Many of my sewing projects begin as an impulse. I pull a piece of clothing from my closet, have a light bulb of inspiration, and then just start hacking away at it without a plan, cutting corners to “save time” until I end up with something I can wear the next morning, as long as you don’t look too closely at the seams. Those usually don’t go as smoothly and around 2-3am, I’m at my machine rethinking all my choices in my life. This particular moment, as I stared at a pile of ruined zippers and dead ends, feeling the frustration mounting, I felt God saying to me, “Lauren, did you really think you were a master seamstress who makes no mistakes? Only I am perfect.” I had to stop what I was doing, be still, and remember that He is God. I walked away from my machine and just sat in His presence. In the stillness, God showed me exactly how to proceed, which involved going back and doing every proper step I had avoided.
In my rush to produce an end product, I tend to bypass making the plan to do it the right way, the first time. I forget that I’m a sinner and my plans are never sufficient. But when I lean on the Lord and His understanding, things always end up the most beautiful, even if they take more time.
- What significant event in your past has influenced your life in a meaningful way?
As mixed of a bag as it was, Covid really did impact my life. It allowed me unadulterated time with family, a moment to reckon with the values that I’ve held with the world around me, as well as the freedom to dive deep into Scripture unrestrained. I came out of that time with stronger convictions, a deeper intimacy with the Lord, and many answered prayers.
- What historical figure or fictional character would you choose to spend a day with?
I would love to spend a day with JRR Tolkien and get to catch a glimpse of the worlds he created in his mind. Or I’d spend the day with Elisabeth Elliot and a notepad, jotting down every piece of wisdom she spewed out.
- What would we be surprised to learn about you?
I know a surprising amount about 2007’s Superbowl XLII, in which the underdog New York Giants shocked the country by defeating the (almost) undefeated New England Patriots, in one of the greatest football upsets of all time, and then in 2012 when they did it again. I know very little else about football.
