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In 2015, Aaron Lee came to the DePaul University College of Communication. He was a graduate student, majoring in journalism. His goal: to be a great television sports journalist.
Aaron achieved that goal in a very short period of time. In the process, he impressed many people throughout the country. But tragically, in the summer of 2022, Aaron died suddenly, just as he was achieving his greatest goal: working at ESPN as a sports producer.
Still, Aaron’s story was an inspiring one. He began at DePaul as a sports anchor and reporter at Good Day DePaul, the weekly television newscast at the university.
After graduating in 2017, Aaron took a job as an on-air sports reporter and anchor at WVLA-TV in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. During his time there, Aaron covered just about every sport in the area, and stood out for his very personal and colorful stories.
He left Baton Rouge in 2019 and returned briefly to DePaul where he worked as an adjunct instructor in the College of Communication. Then, it was on to KPRC-TV in Houston, Texas where Aaron was the senior sports producer. In doing so, he coordinated the station’s coverage of the Houston Astros World Series run.
During this time, Aaron periodically came back to Chicago to produce a documentary called “Dream Chaser.” It chronicled the basketball journey of one of Aaron’s childhood friends in the southern suburbs of Chicago.
Finally, in March, 2022, Aaron achieved his career dream – being hired as a producer at the ESPN bureau in Chicago. He quickly impressed – producing live shots for people like Stephen A. Smith and Jalen Rose. Aaron’s career possibilities seemed endless.
But then, tragedy struck on June 20, 2022. Aaron died suddenly – shocking so many in both the sports world and the DePaul community – people Aaron had touched in so many ways.
Almost a year after his passing, in May 2023, Aaron was awarded a Sports Emmy as a producer for SportsCenter ("Outstanding Studio Show - Daily" category).
Now, we want to honor Aaron by inviting others to give to scholarship in his memory, with the goal of supporting future journalists who, like Aaron Lee, show such promise. Thank you for considering making a gift to continue Aaron’s impact at DePaul.
