{"id":5557,"date":"2013-05-01T13:22:06","date_gmt":"2013-05-01T18:22:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=5557"},"modified":"2024-07-02T14:22:28","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T14:22:28","slug":"ninglee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=5557","title":{"rendered":"Kenan Music Scholar masters her art, gets down to business"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"UNC<\/a>
UNC senior and Kenan Music Scholar Ning Lee with her violin in front of the Kenan Music Building on the UNC campus. (photo by Dan Sears)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Ning Lee was a high school senior in 2009 at Raffles Junior College in Singapore, she and most of her classmates planned to go abroad for college. They looked at all the usual suspects both in Europe and the United States, mostly private Ivies.<\/p>\n

At the time, Carolina really wasn\u2019t on her radar. \u201cI had envisioned a small liberal arts college, and I hadn\u2019t planned on pursuing music as my major discipline,\u201d Ning said.\u00a0 \u201cI loved music, but the reality was the options for music professionals in either performance, instruction and even management were fairly limited; even arts administration is a challenging niche to try and establish oneself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kind of a shame, considering that she was an accomplished and decorated violinist. She was concertmaster of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra and a first violinist in the Asian Youth Orchestra based in Hong Kong, with which she performed throughout Asia and Europe. She has diplomas in violin from Trinity College of Music and the Royal Schools of Music in London, and she has won certificates in the Asian Youth Music national and international competitions.<\/p>\n

After some research, Ning decided to apply to Carolina along with a number of other select universities, but didn\u2019t really consider attending. That is, until the late Richard Luby, then professor and associate chair for performance in UNC\u2019s music department, reached out to her and encouraged her to apply for the newly established Kenan Music Scholarships.<\/p>\n

Made possible by a $4 million endowment created in 2006 by the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust of Chapel Hill, the scholarships, valued at about $70,000 each over four years, cover tuition, fees, room, board and lessons. That amount includes a $6,000 allowance for study abroad, work with a particular performer, internships with elite music groups, attendance at music festivals and other music events, and travel to auditions for graduate school programs. (The Kenan Charitable Trust also just made a $5 million commitment to the University to support significant renovations to Hill Hall, home to UNC\u2019s Department of Music)<\/p>\n

\u201cI loved that Carolina was\u00a0not<\/i>\u00a0a music-centric university and that it offered a broader and more holistic educational opportunity for me. It has been the best of both worlds because I have studied with renowned musicians and enjoyed the flexibility to pursue many avenues of scholarship. You can\u2019t get that at a conservatory.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI hadn\u2019t really thought of Carolina in that way\u2026as a school for serious musicians to hone their craft,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s really what all the prestigious conservatories like Juilliard and the Eastman School of Music are for.\u201d<\/p>\n

But like many others, when she came to campus to audition, she was hooked.\u00a0 When she found out she had been chosen as a Kenan Music Scholar, it made a difficult decision effortless. \u201cI loved that Carolina was not<\/i> a music-centric university and that it offered a broader and more holistic educational opportunity for me,\u201d she said. \u201cIt has been the best of both worlds because I have studied with renowned musicians and enjoyed the flexibility to pursue many avenues of scholarship. You can\u2019t get that at a conservatory.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, Ning said the whole college environment she found in Chapel Hill inspired her to explore\u00a0classes in corporate finance, middle eastern studies and religion as well as volunteer with the student volunteer APPLES program at the Campus Y and spend a semester abroad with UNC\u2019s Honors Semester in London.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course I am so grateful for the scholarship because it gave me the financial and psychological freedom to take advantage of everything that Carolina had to offer, and I was determined to make the most of my time here,\u201d she said. \u201cI think that to be successful in whatever you do, you need to be diverse both in expertise and experience. At UNC, I have been able to pursue business and music degrees, something I likely would not have been able to do elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

The significance of her scholarship is not lost on Ning; she is already giving back, starting with the Class of 2013 Senior Campaign (see related story here<\/a>). \u201cI am so appreciative of all the opportunities I have enjoyed here, the lifelong friendships I have formed, the freedom to hone my art and broaden my horizons, and the support that allowed me to grow in so many ways,\u201d she said. \u201cI think it\u2019s up to each of us to continue the amazing legacy that we inherited, and it\u2019s only right to give back to a place that has given us so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aside from contributing her financial support, Ning also aims to raise her alma mater\u2019s profile among international students and connect with other international alumni as well. \u201cI think that is one thing we as international alumni should focus on because UNC is a great school, and I was fortunate enough to have someone reach out to me and encourage me to take a closer look,\u201d she said. \u201cBut Carolina should be in the conversations international students are having when they think about college, and I want to help improve its brand and appeal abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n

She\u2019s certainly on the right track.<\/p>\n

And since you may be wondering where Ning is going from here, she is taking her degree in finance from the business school along with her music degree and heading to Dallas, Texas, where she will serve as a financial analyst for American Airlines.<\/p>\n

And an ambassador for Tar Heels everywhere.<\/p>\n

[Story by Hope Baptiste \u201987, UNC Development]
\n<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kenan Music Scholar and senior Ning Lee has appreciated the broad and holistic educational opportunity she has experience at Carolina. \u201cIt has been the best of both worlds because I have studied with renowned musicians and enjoyed the flexibility to pursue many avenues of scholarship,” she 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