Lee competed on softball, basketball, soccer and swimming teams while growing up, but found that volleyball was where he excelled as a competitor and teammate.  After suffering a traumatic brain injury in 2014, participation in sports in general became difficult. In 2023, after attending Mills College in a premedical postbaccalaureate program, Lee was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, a degenerative connective tissue disorder, and requires a wheelchair for mobility.

A 2018 graduate of American University with a BA in Psychology, Lee is pursuing an MD/MPH at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Medicine (UI COM) and has already done extensive medical research. He is the co-founder and co-president of QueerCare, Inc. which offers free post-op care for gender-affirming surgeries. He is also a fellow with the UI COM Medicina Fellows Program, and vice president of both the Club for American Sign Language and Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Interest Group. Dr Molly Fausone, a SWM alum from Stanford who’s an internist at UI Health, recommended that Lee apply for the scholarship. He volunteers at community gardens and enjoys propagating plants to give to friends.