The Winding Road to Self-Discovery
“I look back on my Bradley experience so fondly,” Katie Lee ‘06 emphasized as she detailed her journey to the Hilltop and beyond, “but, there were times I was around people with more degrees from very fancy institutions and I would get self-conscious.” While these feelings may have unsettled her temporarily, Lee has always found reassurance by reflecting on what being a Brave has given her: “I have the career I have always wanted, I have friends that I am still closely connected with to this day and I have a community that still cares about me. I know I’d have none of that if I went anywhere else but Bradley!”
These strong words from the Minnesota native paint a picture of a mature and self-assured professional, but Lee’s story took a lot of unexpected twists along the way. In fact, it began long before she went to Bradley.
Lee moved to Peoria to train with Matthew Savoie ‘02, a competitive figure skater who was on his way to becoming a three-time national bronze medalist and 2006 Olympic contestant. She had similar aspirations of becoming an elite figure skater. “During that gap year after high school I lived with my coach and skated almost every day and I knew that my body would only hold out for so long,” she explained, “I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to see how far I could go.” Eventually, she put that dream on ice, realizing it was not the path she wanted to pursue. She decided to enroll at Bradley. “I had some friends there already and I loved being in Peoria, so it was fantastic.”
She enrolled in the Television Arts program, got a job in the admissions office, explored different internships on and off campus, traveled to new cities through class expeditions and filled her time with extracurriculars. “I got to be a big fish in a small pond because of the opportunities at Bradley,” she recalled. “I don’t think I would have gotten those chances at another university.”
After graduating, Lee moved to New York and to work in daytime TV, but she quickly determined that wasn’t where she wanted to be, but she said, “I trusted that role would get me to where I wanted to go, and it did.” She moved to Washington, DC to work as a rights and clearance specialist at National Geographic for four years.
“That position aligned so well with who I am, but I eventually wanted to broaden my horizons and gain new experience.” Her search for more enriching opportunities brought three years of valuable freelance work in which she undertook new production responsibilities on serialized projects for National Geographic, Investigation Discovery and even pieces that are part of the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Lee now works full time for National Geographic as a coordinating producer for the brand’s learning products. “This role pulls what I loved about all of my past work experiences and weaves it together,” Lee explained. “I get such a thrill to be a part of communicating exciting discoveries and interesting learning topics.”
Reaching this level of satisfaction is what we all strive to achieve. Katie Lee is proof that the road is winding to get there, and there are plenty of moments of self-doubt. But she is also quick to remind anyone why the journey is worth the bumps in the road.
“Chasing your dreams is hard. You have to grind and pay your dues over and over again. Don’t let anything dissuade you. There are adventures to be had and all you have to do is say yes to opportunities and be brave!”