Lee Medlin

Lee Medlin graduated from UNC-Greensboro in May 2009, with a BA in International and Global Studies.

“I knew becoming a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army would be a challenging goal to achieve. What I did not anticipate, however, was the amount of diversity I would encounter during training. The officer path I took, had me completing basic training, then onto Officer Candidate School. During my half a year of training, I met future leaders with various cultural backgrounds including Filipino, Taiwanese, German, Spanish, Chinese, French, and Kenyan. I completed the important language requirement for my degree in Spanish. Because of this, it was the easiest for me to connect with soldiers of Hispanic heritage. Conversing with the Hispanics in their native language was, for them, a show of respect for their culture. I could relate, but only imagine, how hard it must have been to move to and adopt another country and not know the native tongue. They looked to the military for opportunity. I also became very aware of how important these immigrants are to our national defense. This realization was made possible through one of the requirements of the International Studies program.”