"Coming to college, I thought I knew what I was doing. I'm about to be a senior and I have encountered so many different players and situations in my time here. Off the court, I have had my ups and downs, but I can say that I don't think the same now as a I did as a 17- or 18-year old. Personal growth is something that has to take place, you can't be 22-years old and still thinking like an 18-year old." - Ira Lee

Sport: Men's Basketball
Major: Sociology
Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.

When Ira Lee graduated from Crossroads High School in the spring of 2017, he had already committed to play basketball for head coach Sean Miller at Arizona. He was a Top 100 recruit and was part of a top recruiting class in the country.
 
He joined a program that is perennially near the top of the Pac-12 Conference, competing for conference regular season and tournament championships seemingly year in and year out.
 
He was eager to be included in that history at Arizona and get his collegiate career started. In his first three seasons with the 'Cats, he has been as an impact reserve who helped the 'Cats to Pac-12 regular season and tournament titles as a freshman.
 
But now as he has his sights set on the start of his senior year, a vastly different type of inclusion is something that he has become vocal about. And that inclusion would not be possible without the growth he has experienced off the court in Tucson.
 
"Coming to college," Lee says, "I thought I knew what I was doing. I'm about to be a senior and I have encountered so many different players and situations in my time here. Off the court, I have had my ups and downs, but I can say that I don't think the same now as a I did as a 17- or 18-year old. Personal growth is something that has to take place, you can't be 22-years old and still thinking like an 18-year old."
 
The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis has ignited protests across the country as the #BlackLivesMatter movement sweeps the nation. People of all races have joined to support those members of the Black community that have been oppressed for so many years. Members of the Black community want their voices to be heard and to let others know that it's OK to speak up for what you believe is right and wrong.
 
It's no different among student-athletes like Lee, and Lee intends to use his voice to push for change.
 
Lee has been among those that have participated in peaceful protests, doing so near his hometown of Los Angeles. But the protest that started off peaceful, eventually turned the other way, with Lee witnessing peers at the protest being struck by rubber bullets.
 
At that time, Lee knew he needed to return home. But he still wanted to use his voice to impact change. So he turned to another passion of his – song writing.
 
Within an hour after returning home from the protest, he had written a 3-minute song to express the anger he had inside of him and the sadness at the situation that he just witnessed at the protest.
 
He posted a portion of that song on his Twitter account. At the time of this story, the song had been viewed nearly 19,000 times.
 
"I wrote a song," said Lee, "And in that song I said '400 years of shame' because this has been happening for 400 years. Some people try to say 'It's better, it's better,' but I'm trying to highlight that it's not as good as everyone makes it seem. I'm going to keep going strong for it. If people don't agree, they don't agree. But I wanted to put my feelings down on paper so others would know how I was feeling."
 
 

When I say "We" I speak for all my black brothers and sisters! I have much love for all of you and I just want you guys to know if we keep sticking together we will break down these walls to capture the change we have always wanted ????? pic.twitter.com/tBPngq8UFk

— Ira Lee ???????? (@iramandoesit) June 3, 2020

That voice that continues to push for inclusion has an audience at the University of Arizona, one of the few athletic departments in the country that had previously established an Inclusive Excellence Council. The focus of the council is to increase and support inclusion, build trust and appreciating the differences among the entire Wildcat Family.
 
The council also works with groups on campus like Men and Women of Purpose, African-American Student Affairs and the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators' Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
 
Lee intends to continue to use his voice, whether it is writing songs or his social media accounts, to keep the topic part of the larger discussions that take place on campus as well as nationally.
 
While Lee admits he didn't know what he was doing when he arrived on campus as a freshman, it is clear that he has grown into his voice and is using it to make an impact on those around him.
 
Now that's real growth.