Charismatic Chemistry: Meet Ms. Cheung!

Teaching is known to be a demanding profession, requiring patience, creativity, and dedication. At Blake, Ms.Cheung, with her charismatic and brilliant personality, has managed to balance all three with immense grace and has left a lasting impression on all her students.

When asked about what motivates her to come to school with the same energy each day, Ms.Cheung didn’t hesitate to answer. “I teach because I like the kids and I like the subject,” she explains. “Even if students don’t want to necessarily invest in chemistry, I can give them a comfortable, safe space where education is valued.” Focusing on fostering her relationships with students is what fuels her commitment. 

These fostered relationships live far beyond the classroom walls. For Ms.Cheung, the most rewarding moment as a teacher is not the test scores or the praise from teaching, but rather the students who come back to visit her. Even students she taught over a decade ago still come to visit. “I still keep in touch with some of my students, who are now doctors, adults, and have kids,” she said with a smile. “That’s what I love to see, the success they have in life.”

Countless students at Blake can testify to Ms. Cheung’s unique way of teaching and how evident her efforts are. When asked about Ms.Cheung, 10th grader Victoria said, “She explains the work clearly and after assigning the task walks around and asks students if they need assistance the entire time. Even if some of us don’t need help, she still asks to show that she’s there.” Not only is she actively present in her classroom, but she also has a hands-on approach that ensures every student’s success. 

At the start of her career, Ms. Cheung aspired to be a doctor, but she set aside that dream to pursue teaching, and, although she has no regrets, the toll the job has on her life is undeniable. “Some days I come home exhausted and I feel like I give so much to my students that my kids don’t get the patient mom I want to be,” she admits. Sacrifices like this are mostly unseen by others. 

Regardless of the challenges she faces, she approaches them with a “positive perspective.”  If she could give one piece of advice to her younger self, it would be simple: to “be flexible and give herself grace,” because “not every lesson is going to be perfect and not every student is going to be engaged every day.” 

When Ms. Cheung was asked how she wanted her students to remember her, she stated, “I want them to look back and have a positive experience.” When it comes down to it, she wants her students to know one thing above all else – that she cares.

“Even if they didn’t love chemistry, I hope they loved being in my classroom,” she said hopefully. “That’s what I want to be remembered for.” And from the way her students continue to return years and even decades later, it is clear that they all do. 

What sets Ms.Cheung apart is not her patience or even her creativity, but rather her passion for teaching and her desire and ability to foster every student in both academics and in their personal confidence. She embodies the very essence of what makes a good teacher.