ATPE member A’ndrea Fisher was recently named one of 50 Grosvenor Teacher Fellows for 2023. Fisher is a doctoral candidate and gifted-and-talented teacher at Comal ISD’s Pieper Ranch Middle School. This month, she joined two other educators on an expedition to Indonesia and Singapore. 

We caught up with her before her journey to ask about the program, how she added her own twist to the experience, and what she most looked forward to. 

Tell us about the Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship and the application process.

Each year, the National Geographic Society and Lindblad Expeditions offer this fellowship to 50 educators to help them bring the world to their students and immerse them in different places, cultures, and traditions. 

The application process opens every fall, and educators submit essays and videos to share how they introduce the world to students and what they want to get from the experience if they’re selected. I've been applying for 10 years, and this year I was accepted as one of the 50. 

Over about two weeks we'll visit different islands and explore culture, the environment, traditions, and pretty much anything and everything you can think of. 

How have you gotten your students involved with the project? 

My students are all part of the expedition team, so I say they are my stateside team. Since I was selected, I've been getting tons of questions from them, because I really want their curiosity to craft the lens I go into the expedition with. 

I found out in February that I got one of the fellowship spots, and I couldn't say anything until after all the fellows met at the National Geographic Society headquarters in D.C. in April. 

Before I left for D.C., I came up with this project in which I presented this challenge called "Mission: Terima Kasih," which in Indonesian means "Thank you." They were asked to create a background dossier for a covert agent who’s going to Indonesia and do some background reconnaissance and gather some intel for future missions. They developed paper dossiers and passports, and they did research on different traditions and other cultural elements. 

Finally, I revealed that I was the covert agent. The kids thought it was awesome, and they started throwing out questions, many of which I collected through Google Forms. I started a blog to share with my current and former students. I also have a big black flag outside my classroom that says, "Live a great story," so I got a giant yellow one, had all the kids sign it for the expedition team, and I told them I would take it everywhere.

How are you tying this together with your doctoral research? 

My doctorate focuses on student voice, and I think this opportunity—coming at the same time that I’m doing my doctoral research—just weaves together so much. This is because a lot of times kids are only told what to do, and they have so much to share that's important that can really change things. But too often they're dismissed as being too young and not being aware of what's going on. I'm hoping that this opportunity really shows them to take ownership over their learning and be active participants in their education.

What are you and your students most excited about going into the program?

I never really traveled until last summer, when my husband and I took an amazing vacation to Fiji. And for my doctoral work, I visited Kenya. It was my first time being out on my own in a different culture, not speaking the language, and just living that experience. 

I'm fascinated with the cultural differences because in the region I’m visiting, there's the history of people who are native to the country, as well as Dutch influence from when they came through on trade routes, and then there are influences from Asia and Australia—just different cultures blending in. So I'm super-excited just to learn about different traditions. The kids are interested in the food. They ask me, "What do they eat, and how is it made?" Looking at the wildlife is going to be phenomenal, too—I'm a huge outdoor buff. The experience of all those things coming together is what excites me the most.

You can follow Fisher's journey on her blog, "Mission: Terima Kasih." Congratulations, A'ndrea, and we look forward to learning about your experience!