Local paramedic and volunteer firefighter joins EMS instructor team at SCC

Alexandra “Alex” Barnhill Lee, an Evergreen native, is the newest EMS instructor/Clinical Coordinator at Southeastern Community College, leading classes in the field of Emergency Medical Services. Recruited as pitcher for the SCC Lady Rams softball team in 2014, Lee has now reversed her role from student to instructor and is ready to produce the next class of public safety professionals for Columbus County and beyond.   

“Ever since I was a little girl, I used to love playing ‘school,’” Lee said. “That was my thing, and I always knew I wanted to go into teaching. When I grew a love for EMS and fire and transitioned into teaching out here at SCC, I get the best of both worlds.”  

Entering the world of public safety out of necessity in the fall of 2015, Lee’s first call to service was at the Evergreen Volunteer Fire Department where it was at risk of shutting down due to low membership. At that time, Lee was en route to becoming an elementary education teacher but decided that public safety was her true calling.  

“But with teaching, I always knew I wanted to teach,” Lee said. “So now, I’ve transitioned from elementary school to teaching college.” 

With a plethora of fire and rescue positions under her belt, Lee has worked to save and protect people all over Columbus County. Most recently coming from a full-time position at Klondyke-Chadbourn Fire and Rescue, Lee started as a full-time instructor and clinical coordinator at SCC in August. Before joining full-time, Lee taught part-time at SCC since fall 2022. 

Lee’s favorite part of being an instructor is her students. She said there is one particular student who comes by her office every day to check in with her. She said the close-knit bonds with her students make the EMS program feel like family.   

“It’s just the students, and I work with great people,” Lee said. “My students know my door is always open, and my phone is always on. Just like on an ambulance, some days we have to be an ear to listen, and maybe I’m that ear for my students.” 

Lee teaches curriculum and continuing education EMS courses during the day, and she assists with continuing education EMS classes in the evening. In the spring, Lee plans to teach a paramedic class that counts as curriculum or continuing education. Lee said her personal motto is “education is one thing that no one can take away from you.” 

Lee is a 2014 West Columbus High School graduate. She earned her associate of art degree from SCC in 2021, her associate of EMS from Bladen Community College in 2024 and her bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from UNC Pembroke this year. Lee is working on her master’s degree in public administration with a concentration in emergency management from Columbia Southern University and plans to obtain her doctorate in organizational leadership. 

Outside of work, Lee enjoys spending time with her husband, Stone Lee, and their two sons, Bentley and Easton. If she’s not teaching at SCC, you can find Lee on an ambulance or fire truck at one of her part-time jobs as a paramedic or volunteer firefighter. Lee enjoys deer hunting and fishing, and she serves as the Parent-Teacher Organization president at West Columbus School in Cerro Gordo.  

Interested in taking one of Alexandra Barnhill Lee’s EMS classes? Click here to learn more about the program!