USM’s Lee Honored by Organization for Leading Change in the State
Thu, 09/28/2023 - 09:17am | By: Ivonne Kawas
In celebration of trailblazing women who are leading change in the state of Mississippi,
Women for Progress of MS, Inc., a non-profit organization, honored the legacy and
accomplishments of women throughout the state in its 45th Year Anniversary Celebration
& Awards Gala held in the state’s capitol this past summer.
Dr. Sarah Lee, director of The University of Southern Mississippi’s (USM) School of Computing Sciences and Computer Engineering, was among the seven trailblazers honored for uplifting and empowering women and families throughout the state.
Through her work with the Last Mile Education Fund, a non-profit that Dr. Lee co-founded, she has been able to make an impact as it has provided funding to many students throughout the United States with aspirations to complete their 4-year and community college programs in computing and cybersecurity.
“It was such an honor to be recognized by such a distinguished and accomplished group of women,” said Dr. Lee. “I am thrilled that the Last Mile Education Fund, which was founded based on the experiences of a young woman from the Mississippi Gulf Coast, has been able to make a difference in the lives of so many students of computing in my home state.”
The Last Mile Education Fund invests in degree attainment for striving, low-income students in high-demand STEM disciplines. Frequently, students confronting challenging financial circumstances are compelled to decelerate or, in some cases, abandon their pursuit for a college degree, despite years of dedication and effort. Last Mile identifies students on the cusp of abandoning their chosen career paths and offers timely assistance to overcome unforeseen financial obstacles. Since 2020, Last Mile has awarded over 5,000 grants nationwide totaling $5.5M to support undergraduate degree completion for low-income underrepresented students aimed at careers in tech.
Dr. Lee left FedEx Corporation after 19 years to enter academia with a passion for broadening participation in computer science and cybersecurity education. She has also worked on several initiatives to create awareness and programs that encourage more women to enter computing pathways through her work including the Mississippi Affiliate Aspirations in Computing program, in collaboration with the National Center for Women and Information Technology and the Mississippi Coding Academies.
Women for Progress of Mississippi, Inc. was chartered on May 11, 1978 as a non-profit, non-partisan community improvement organization of action-oriented, influential, and talented individuals. Under the leadership of Mrs. Dorothy T. Stewart, founder and first president, Women for Progress's mission was to become a catalyst for: Advocacy, Awareness, and Action.
About Last Mile Education Fund
Last Mile Education Fund offers a disruptive approach to both social inequity and increasing diversity in technology by addressing critical funding gaps for low-income, underrepresented students within reach of a degree. Last Mile takes an abundance approach, investing in students demonstrating a commitment to a technical degree, providing agile, just-in-time support for challenges they face beyond their control, and incubating them to be the next generation of innovators—because sometimes the last dollar invested is the most important of all. Since 2020, Last Mile has awarded over 2300 grants. Last Mile grantees are 36% Black, 24% Hispanic, 15% Asian, 15% White, and 2% Native American.