Courtland Lee: A Global Advocate for Counseling.

Courtland Lee has made significant contributions to the growth and development of national and international counseling since the 1980s. He is one of a handful in the field who has made a mark on the profession as both an association leader and a major contributor to the counseling literature. His passion, his diplomacy, and his elegance are legendary. This interview occurred over several months as I caught Lee in between his busy schedule of making presentations and meeting writing deadlines. Samuel T. Gladding (STG): Courtland, I have known you for at least 20 years and have observed and admired your passion, your scholastic accomplishments, and your national/ international influence on the world of counseling. Yet all of these factors have been developmental informing. Some career theorists state that a person's childhood influences later decisions regarding choice of vocation. What was your life like growing up? What family and peer influences had a bearing on your choice to enter the profession of counseling with such intensity? Where did all of your energy and achievement spring from? Courtland C. Lee (CCL): I am the oldest of four children. I was born and raised in Philadelphia. My father worked for the U.S. Post Office, and my mother was a "stay-at-home mom." While my family was not poor, we were certainly not middle class. I would say that by today's standards, my family would be considered solidly working class. My memories of growing up are basically happy ones. My mother, in particular, ensured that we had the benefits of healthy childhood activities. The most memorable feature of the house in which I grew up was that it had a huge yard in which my brother and two sisters could play all manner of games. Because of the size of our yard, our house became the center of activity for the entire neighborhood. It was not unusual to see scores of kids engaged in all types of fun activities in my family's yard. What I remember best is what I like to refer to as our "Charlie Brown--like baseball games," which went on for hours with much screaming and yelling over balls and strikes or who was out and who was safe. Neither of my parents finished high school. My father dropped out in 12th grade to join the Army in World War II, while my mother did the same to work in a defense plant. Because of this fact, education was constantly stressed while we were growing up. It was a foregone conclusion that my sisters, brother, and I would go to college. This point was nonnegotiable in my family. To underscore this position, unlike many young people, my siblings and I did not have to wash dishes in the evening because my mother decreed that homework took precedence over dish washing and virtually everything else on school nights. As a result of this philosophy, my parents' legacy is four children with college degrees, two of them with advanced degrees. In addition to a nurturing family, I grew up in a culturally diverse community that held high expectations for its young people. Most of my neighborhood peers came from lower middle-class families with parents who had high hopes for their children. Our activities revolved around school, community organizations such as the YMCA, and the church. It is interesting to reflect back that most of the kids I grew up with became successful in their chosen career path, be it as an educator; a physician; a lawyer; or, in one case, a world-renowned concert pianist. My most significant educational experience occurred during high school. I was selected to attend Central High School in Philadelphia. Central is the second-oldest continuously public high school in the United States and consistently ranks among the top public schools in the nation for its academic standards. Central High School holds the distinction of being the only high school in the United States that has the authority to confer the bachelor of arts degree upon its graduates. …