Penn Hills native named director of admissions at United States Military Academy West Point

Coming from humble beginnings in Penn Hills, Col. Rance A. Lee didn’t imagine life would lead him to where he is.

“My parents didn’t have a lot of money for college so I had to look for other avenues to pay for school,” said Lee, who grew up as the seventh of 10 siblings.

Lee’s track and field background, having run for the Penn Hills High School team, opened the doors for the United States Military Academy West Point.

“West Point was one of the schools that recruited me to run in college,” Lee said.

And run he did.

Serving as captain of the West Point men’s indoor track team, Lee “helped the indoor and outdoor track and field teams to garner eight Patriot League team titles and a combined record of 9-0 against service academy rivals Navy and Air Force,” according to West Point’s public affairs office.

Lee said his Penn Hills upbringing prepared him well for his West Point experience.

“It was one of those communities where you kinda had to be … good. There were a lot of good athletes, good students, so in order to stand out you kinda had to work hard.”

Graduating from the school in 1997, Lee expected to serve his required five years of active duty and move on. However, the tight-knit community is what drew him back as the school’s associate director of admissions in 2016.

“I love this place and I get to help out kids,” he said.

After working in West Point’s admissions office for eight years, Lee was promoted to colonel and officially was made director of admissions June 26. He is the sixth person to hold the position in the school’s history.

When former director of admissions Col. Deborah J. McDonald announced her retirement and the school began its search for someone to fill the position, Lee thought, “I might as well throw my hat in and see what happens.”

In his new position, Lee said he gets to help students and their families gain insight into the school’s true nature.

“There are a lot of kids that have no clue,” he said. “They see West Point and think they’re enlisting in the Army,” when, in reality, “we consider ourselves the preeminent leadership development institution in the world.”