Sophie (Mai Kou) Lee - Class of 2003

Sophie Lee is a graduate of Newman Catholic High School's class of 2003. During her time at Newman, Sophie remembers how hard she worked, spending countless hours working on homework, volunteering, and doing college exploration. Most importantly, she remembers the lasting impact of some of her amazing teachers that noticed her potential from early on.

After graduating from UW-Madison with a BS in Psychology, Sophie didn’t follow the same straight path as many do. Instead, she began a career and worked her way up. She started out working at the Madison Area Technical College's student enrollment services center, which opened opportunities for her with the State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS). Sophie is a proud public servant and has dedicated a total of 12 years to DHS, with the first 11 years working in Medicaid and the last year in Public Health. She has served in a variety of roles, including as an Income Maintenance Specialist and Policy Analyst. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sophie joined UW Health, where she served as a Project Manager and managed one of the two branches of work under the Hospital Incident Command System. This was the first time she was exposed to the field of emergency management and learned that she enjoys the work and challenges that come with it. Sophie has since returned to DHS and currently serves in a leadership role as a Health Equity Strategist with the Office of Preparedness and Emergency Health Care (OPEHC).

Today, outside of her flourishing career, Sophie has enjoyed becoming a mother and raising a family. She encourages all Newman students to know the importance of self-love, not be afraid to be who you are, and know you don’t have to follow the same paved path as others to be successful.