UWG News Archive

Lee receives AATSP award

March 19, 2003

CARROLLTON, GA - Dr. Cecilia Lee, professor of Spanish at the University of West Georgia, has been named Teacher of the Year by the Georgia Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP).

AATSP is a professional non-profit organization with nearly 85 years of experience promoting Spanish and Portuguese languages, literature and cultures. Their international membership includes educators, administrators, supervisors, government, community leaders and others who support the study of Spanish and Portuguese.

UWG News Photo A native of Bogotá, Colombia, Lee earned graduate degrees in Romance Languages at the University of Georgia and Emory University. She has taught at schools in Bogotá, Georgia State University and South Georgia College.

Lee has been at UWG for the past 20 years and has taught Spanish, French and English as a second language.

Dr. Beheruz Sethna, UWG president, said, “Dr. Lee’s teaching, scholarship and service to West Georgia have made her an asset to the University and have provided our students with many positive and enriching experiences. We have all benefited from her years of service as a dedicated and innovative professor.”

Lee dedicates her energy and enthusiasm to reach every student and make the classes interesting, challenging and fun. “I dedicate as much time to prepare for my elementary Spanish classes as my upper level classes,” she said. “Instead of focusing all my attention on the subjects, I focus my attention on the students to stimulate them daily and to find the best approach to the topic. It is not about what I teach, but how I teach it,” she added.

Lee believes that is also very important for professors to conduct research to contribute to their field of study. “When a student comes to my office to ask me for help on a research paper, they see me also doing research and this encourages them,” she said.

Her extensive list of publications includes book reviews, research articles, translations and scholarly texts on subjects related to Hispanic literature and culture. She has traveled to foreign language conferences at state, national, and international levels to share perspectives on topics that include Cervantes, Goya, Garcia Lorca and Salvador Dalí.

Lee is continuously involved in promoting the study of foreign languages. In addition to teaching at UWG and conducting research, she has taught teachers in elementary schools how to improve their foreign languages teaching skills.

“I share the Best Teacher of the Year Award with all the Spanish faculty at UWG. They all deserve it as much as I do because they are professional, hardworking scholars,” Lee said.

“I am very honored to receive this award, but my biggest reward is to see my former students becoming successful in their careers,” she said.

“I went to receive my award and what a joy! I saw many former students of our department and of mine who are very successful as teachers or administrators and they are committed to the profession,” she added.

Lee Burson, president of AATSP of Georgia and a Spanish teacher at Carrollton High School, is just one example of a successful former student. “I realize that much of my decision to enter the field of foreign languages is due to the influence of my professor, Dr. Lee,” he said.

Lee is married to Carey P. Lee who is also an educator in the field of special education with Carroll County Schools. She has three children, Sara, Susana and Phillip, and a grandson, Alec. “My family has been very supportive of everything I do and my two daughters have taken some of my Spanish classes at UWG,” she said.

For information on the Spanish program at UWG, contact the Foreign Language and Literatures Department at 770-836-6515.

Dr. Cecilia Lee, professor of Spanish at the University of West Georgia, was named Teacher of the Year by the Georgia Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP) for her dedication as a Spanish educator.

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