Nicole Lee (Profile Picture)
Story by: Andrew Poecker
Photos by: Andrew Poecker & Nicole Lee
Most people are either born in the United States and go to school, or come here from another country to go to school. But how about both? Not many can say they have, but for Nicole Lee, a 21-year-old Journalism Advertising Major at the University of Oregon, being born in the United States and then moving to Hong Kong is just the beginning of this talented student’s life.
Born in Carrollton, Texas on September 8th, 1992, Nicole barely recalls the time that she spent in her home state. That’s because a few years later when she was only four years old, Nicole and both of her parents moved to Hong Kong, due to job relocations.
Growing up in Hong Kong, the government strongly encourages each person to learn three different languages. Luckily for Nicole (coming from the US) she already knew English. As she grew up she learned two other languages: Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese and eventually became fluent in both.
Another suggested task when living in Hong Kong is that each person needs to be proficient in a specific skill. This could be anything from playing a sport to taking acting classes. Nicole played a lot of sports as a young kid, but while she enjoyed playing sports she didn’t see it as her passion. After moving to Hong Kong, when she was about 5 years old, Nicole decided that the one skill she wanted to learn was how to play the piano.
Nicole and famous Piano Master, Liu Shikun back in 2001. Nicole performed at Christmas Concerto at the Sha Tin Town Hall in Sha Tin, Hong Kong.
“Music is my passion because every time I play the piano my heart follows the flow of the melody,” said Nicole.
Learning how to play the piano was no easy task. “I actually had to practice for up to 5 hours a day,” said Nicole.
Nicole with her brother Nathan.
Soon after learning how to play the piano, Nicole found out that she was going to have a baby brother. Nathan was born in 1997 in Hong Kong. Nicole said that the one thing that she misses most about going to school in Oregon is that “I really enjoy spending time with him, but since we are so far apart that makes it really hard to do.”
Nicole in the snow on the University of Oregon Campus.
Upon graduating from high school, Nicole decided she wanted to stay close to her family in Hong Kong. As a result she attended college for two years in Hong Kong. However, she quickly became homesick for the United States again, so Nicole and her friend applied to the University of Oregon for their last two years of college.
“I came to UO because of my friend from Hong Kong is originally from Portland, so she applied to UO and I was like hmm… the UO has a great J-School, so I applied too.”
Nicole also said she’s adjusted to the typical Oregon weather, “I used to hate the rainy weather, but now I’ve grown to like it.”
Another interesting thing about Nicole is that she is a dual citizen (a citizen of the US and a citizen of Hong Kong). However she is not a citizen of China, and this was a problem because Nicole had always wanted to go to China to visit but couldn’t. But this past summer, that changed for her when she got an internship at Allison + Partners, a P.R. agency in Beijing, China.
“I got to meet a lot of colleagues and learned about what a PR person does,” said Nicole. She was very surprised that even though she was just an intern, her colleagues treated her with a lot of respect. “Even though I was just an intern, they wanted to all learn from me.”
Nicole in Macau celebrating her 20th Birthday.
Besides playing the piano, Nicole loves to travel! On her 20th birthday and with her friends took a trip to Macau and had a good time celebrating by hitting up the slot machines and going to a few of the local bars. “It was fun spending time with my friends. The best part was definitely trying all the local food,” said Nicole.
Nicole and her friend getting a “mid-air shot” taken at The Great Wall of China this past summer (2013).
This past summer Nicole took an amazing trip to the Great Wall of China and made some new friends who were also interns from other countries. “I loved traveling to The Great Wall because I have always wanted to see one of the 7 Wonders of the World in person,” said Nicole.
Nicole swimming off the coast in Sabah, Malaysia.
Nicole “taming” an alligator in Singapore in 2011.
Nicole and her Mom in Seoul, South Korea in January 2014.
Some other countries Nicole has traveled to throughout her life include: Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, Japan, and Macau. “I love traveling so much because I love exploring new cultures and new food—even though I hate riding ferries and taking plane rides; I just love traveling to places.”
Check out Nicole’s website here: http://cargocollective.com/nicolelaurenlee