As a substitute teacher, it’s often hard to connect with students in one fleeting block, but WAHS-based sub, George Lee, has managed to defy the norms in expert fashion. Lee, a historian himself, has often been compared to a modern Napoleon by students, conquering the minds of his pupils. While Lee wouldn’t equate himself to the French Emperor, he tries to embody great aspects of many historical figures: from “Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., for their belief in nonviolence as a means to achieve justice,” to “Viktor Frankl, for teaching the world about the meaning of life in the face of unimaginable tragedy.” Within these aspirations, Lee still knows “no one person is like any other person in history or in the present.” One thing is for certain, Lee is an individualistic and beloved staple of the WAHS community.
Lee grew up in Chesapeake, Virginia, his high school being only 5 minutes away from the North Carolina border. After graduating, Lee continued his education at the University of Virginia as a foreign affairs major. Foreign affairs was the perfect major for Lee, who has always been a fanatic of history and politics. “I’ve loved [history] since I was probably in kindergarten, and pretty much haven’t changed since. It’s just always been a fascination of mine. Whether I was doing anything else, I would always be reading the newspaper or reading books about history.”
After graduating from UVA as a foreign affairs major, an expert in the field of international politics, Lee applied to several jobs in foreign affairs that entailed working with “tanks and stuff like that,” but ended up changing directions with his career. Lee eventually decided that while foreign affairs was intriguing, going into law might be a more fitting career. After working as a corporate paralegal, he decided with no cold blood toward the law that becoming a lawyer also might not be the ideal path for him.
After leaving law, Lee decided he wanted to become a teacher. Lee says he was drawn to teaching by “working with students and helping students achieve their dreams and be the best people that they can be. And of course… the subjects as well.”
Lee became a sub for Albemarle County in February of 2022 and found a passion for teaching which he hadn’t felt in his other careers. “I’ve worked a lot of jobs, including, you know, low-wage jobs as a cashier and [in] restaurants and stuff like that, but this doesn’t feel like work. This is just something I love doing.”
In April of 2023, Lee’s position changed, and he became a WAHS-based sub. Now, Lee subs in different classrooms at WAHS every day, and the increase in time has definitely been felt. Many students say that they’re “happy” or “excited” for class when they walk in and See Mr Lee, and plenty more would classify him as their favorite sub.
It seems that Lee has been able to build a rapport with students in the classroom by creating a positive learning environment. Junior Willa Simmons expressed that she was always excited when she has Mr. Lee as a sub because “he always wants everyone to feel comfortable” and described his teaching style as “super-inclusive”.
Other students expressed gratitude for his wide breadth of knowledge from his various interests. Wasif Mohi, a senior said “ Mr Lee is super informative and helpful. Whenever I have him as a sub I’m happy because I know he can contribute super well and help me learn as a student, while still being a substitute teacher.”
One thing is for certain, having Lee as a sub is a leisurely experience and a sweet release from the boring school day for many students. Lee’s Sleek teaching style leads students to gleefully love his presence and ward off the sleepiness of the school day. He will go down in WAHS history as a Leegend.
