Houa Lee receives UW System award

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Houa Lee

MENOMONIE, WIS. (10/30/2012)(readMedia)-- A University of Wisconsin-Stout student was honored with the UW System Outstanding Women of Color in Education Award.

Houa Lee, of Schofield, was recognized at the annual Wisconsin Women's Studies and LGBTQ Conference Oct. 5-6 at UW-Oshkosh. Lee is majoring in human development and family studies, with a minor in women and gender studies. She also is a McNair Scholar.

Since 1994 the awards have been given annually to a representative of each UW System school. The honorees can be faculty, students, staff or community members.

This event is co-sponsored by the UW System Women's Studies Consortium and the UW System Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. To see a list of award winners go to http://wsc.uwsa.edu/events/woc/woc2012.htm.

The award recognizes service to the campus and community. Lee serves as a volunteer advocate for women at The Bridge to Hope domestic violence shelter in Menomonie, particularly in the service of Hmong women. She translated documents at the shelter from English into Hmong. At the UW-Stout Hmong New Year in 2011, Lee designed a booth featuring The Bridge to Hope and provided English and Hmong versions of documents on domestic violence and sexual assault awareness and prevention.

Lee has been in the Hmong Stout Student Organization for four years and served as president last year. She has worked with Shades of Yellow, the first organized Hmong LGBTQ nonprofit that works to promote awareness and education of the Hmong LGBTQ community.

In 2011 she also led a student project at the Eau Claire Country Jail called Men are Part of the Solution. Students provided domestic violence awareness education for male and female inmates.