The belief that education is the greatest weapon against poverty and that one cannot loose education is the foundational belief of Harmony Scholarship’s founder, Dr. Jane Lee.

The foundation is named in honor of her maternal grandmother, Park Oh Che, and grandfather, Kim Cha Sung. Harmony (할머니) is translated to grandmother in Korean. Even though they were sharecropping farmers who never entered a school, they managed to educate all their 6 children through college. Through their numerous sacrifices, they paved a way for their children out of poverty. Dr. Lee’s mother went on to become a pharmacist in Korea.

Dr. Lee’s family had the opportunity to immigrate to US in 1978. They did not have much money when they came and the family worked together to make ends meet, whether it was working at the family-owned restaurant or cleaning buildings at night. It was again education that changed the trajectory of Dr. Lee’s future.

Dr. Lee contributes all her accomplishments to the sacrifices her grandparents made long ago when they sowed into their children the importance of education. As the founder of Harmony Scholarship Foundation, Dr. Lee wants to give back to other young people so that they can complete their education. She wants to support students that have come to the US as refugees who have the desire to complete their education. It is her belief that “refugees can do hard things because they have been through hard things.” She understands that there is no higher gift than the gift of education and that education can change the future of an entire generation.