Provisional Spotlight

Provisional Highlight: Lauren Jones Lee

By: Anna-Bryce Hobson

Lauren Jones Lee is no stranger to change. She’s lived in four different cities, traveled to 46 states and 15 countries and left a successful career in the nonprofit sector to pursue her passion for educating young children. By choosing to maintain a “can-do” attitude, Lauren was able to settle into a new city and new career as well as join the Junior League of Charlotte, Inc. (JLC) during a year unlike any other.

From Philanthropy to Teaching

Lauren studied education in college, but after graduation she pursued a successful career in the nonprofit sector. In 2017, she and her husband relocated from their home state of Texas to Wisconsin. There, she worked for the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley. Lauren ultimately decided to trade in her role working with children in the nonprofit sector for an opportunity to engage with them in a classroom setting. When her husband’s job brought them to Charlotte in 2020, Lauren began her teaching career as a third-grade teacher at Union Preparatory Academy (UPA). What a crazy year to start teaching!

COVID-19 forced Lauren and her colleagues to begin teaching fully remote in March of 2020. On top of it being Lauren’s first year as a teacher (which undoubtedly comes with its fair share of challenges), she also had to adapt to teaching young children virtually. UPA transitioned back to in-person learning this past fall – but with several adjustments. Lauren now has a hybrid classroom with about 80% of her students participating in person and the remainder participating virtually. Her classroom is outfitted with an Owl camera that follows sounds in her classroom, allowing her virtual students to experience lessons and story-time and even hear the questions posed by their peers who are attending class in person. Lauren is one of the many unsung heroes that has had to adapt and overcome in her profession due to COVID-19. This new teaching model surely makes lesson planning, class participation and student engagement more difficult, but Lauren says she is encouraged daily by the ways in which her students have been able to learn and grow in a socially distanced setting. Lauren even joked that moving to a new city in this pandemic meant that many of her first Charlotte friends were primarily seven and eight-year-olds!

A New Way to Give Back

The transition out of the nonprofit sector left Lauren looking for a way to stay engaged and involved in her community. Lauren knew that she wanted to rekindle her love for philanthropy and find ways to surround herself with likeminded women in her new city. She had several friends who were members of various Junior Leagues throughout the country and learned about the League during her time in Texas. Once in Charlotte, she knew the JLC would be the perfect outlet for her to explore the city, meet ladies with a similar passion for service and connect with local businesses. Through the JLC, Lauren hopes to learn more about the Charlotte area. She is excited to make Charlotte her home! Lauren hopes that she can connect with fellow JLC members by serving alongside them in furtherance of the JLC’s goal: getting the children of Charlotte “school ready,” whether that school is in person or virtually.