Dehua Lea, an international student from Malaysia, walks in Lone Star College-CyFair’s commencement not only as a 2009 Coca-Cola National Finalist, but with an experience he sums up with one word – opportunity.

 “I have had opportunities that I would not have even dreamed of when I started studying at LSC-CyFair,” said Lea, who enrolled in classes in Spring 2006 shortly after gaining permanent residency in December 2005. “I am a perfectionist at heart and my LSC-CyFair experience both inside and outside the classroom has helped me to work toward bettering myself.”

His hard work academically earned Lea an invitation to be part of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.

“Joining Phi Theta Kappa gave me a sense of community at LSC-CyFair,” said Lea, a past president of LSC-CyFair’s Beta Lambda Mu Chapter. “It helped me to adjust to college life. One thing led to the next and my involvement with the college pretty much snowballed.”

At LSC-CyFair, Lea was active in Model United Nations and served as president of the Honors Student Organization. He also took a summer job as an orientation leader. He said helping familiarize new and returning students with the many campus services offered was rewarding.

“Being a student at LSC-CyFair helped me to become a better servant leader by offering me very unique experiences, such as leading a Model UN delegation to compete at an international level,” said Lea.

As a member of Beta Lambda Mu Chapter, Lea earned a Texas STARS scholarship, which is offered to Phi Theta Kappa members in the Texas Region. At the recent Phi Theta Kappa International Convention, he was honored as a member of both the All-Texas Academic Team and the All-USA Academic Team. His scores earned in the All-USA Academic Team competition led to his selection as a Coca-Cola finalist and $1,000 scholarship recipient.

“I am really excited about these awards. It is a really good feeling to know that you are competitive with some of the best students in the world,” he said. “But to me the true value of these awards is all the hard work and personal growth that happened along the way. I believe that my experiences have prepared me to not only be more successful academically, but also prepared me to face life’s future challenges.”

Having earned his an associate’s of arts degree at LSC-CyFair, Lea is now pursuing a bachelor’s degree in International Studies at the University of St. Thomas. He plans to go on to graduate school and eventually work for an international organization.

“Dehua is an outstanding scholar as well as a great example of servant leadership and dedication to the Beta Lambda Mu Chapter,” said Esther Robinson, Phi Theta Kappa co-advisor. “We have been privileged to work with him as he developed outstanding leadership and service skills which have been recognized on a national basis.”

For information on the Beta Lambda Mu Chapter , contact Robinson at 281-290-3994 or via e-mail at Esther.M.Robinson@LoneStar.edu