Valley educator has unique opportunity to share, learn with people around the world

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Kings Canyon middle school teacher, Floridia Cheung, is one of 77 teachers from the United States selected to participate in Fulbright Teachers for Global Classroom Fellowship that will take her to Indonesia this summer.

Each day, Floridia Cheung takes on the role as a teacher but soon the Kings Canyon middle school educator will be taking on the role of a student.

"I thought it would be a tremendous opportunity for our students to get a global perspective on the world and an understanding that our classroom is not limited by the four walls but in the digital age now our classroom can now go beyond Fresno," Cheung said.

She applied for the paid fellowship last year filling out an application and submitting a Youtube video. Cheung was selected last summer but this July she will go to Indonesia for a teacher exchange, learning about their classroom curriculum.

When she comes back she hopes to connect her students with the issues that not only impact the Central Valley but the world.

"The students need to understand that there is a drought happening in South Africa. So I want to equip students with those skills to be able to confront those issues one day in their future preparing them for those careers," Cheung said.

Before she heads to southeast Asia, Cheung will travel to Washington DC next week with principal Edith Navarro. The two will meet with the 77 other teachers selected to develop a plan for global education they hope will inspire students.

"It is always a pleasure when you have a teacher that steps outside a box and does it for the right reasons and those reasons are giving kids new opportunities. So this is really going to bridge the gap for our kids," Navarro said.

And Cheung hopes her unique opportunity will create new ones for her students.