Connecting from across the globe

Cristi Marchetti is one of those people who inspires us to dream and to accomplish more in our lives.

Marchetti, a Lehighton Area High School English teacher, is inspiring in everyday life for her passion for the profession. She motivates people around her and enables them to believe they, too, can accomplish anything.

Marchetti will be embarking Wednesday on an educational experience of a lifetime, when she will board a plane with her daughter Vivian, 7, and head to Northern Ireland as a Fulbright Distinguished Award recipient.

They are packing and unpacking clothes and toys to prepare for the four-month stint, though Vivian is disappointed that she has to leave some of her favorites behind.

One of 45 U.S. citizens traveling abroad through the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program in 2016-17, Marchetti will be based out of Queens University in Belfast and research full service extended schools.

She'll be visiting a successful program in Belfast, where extended school activities are designed to support learning, raise school standards and promote healthy lifestyles, enabling schools to work closely with members of the wider community and connect local people with local services. Some examples include breakfast or homework clubs, sports, art, drama, programs for parents and families and community use of school premises.

Her desire is to find ways to make Lehighton schools the hub of the community.

"All community members are part of the school setting," Marchetti says. The students, and the school, are completely behind this project. Students want to interact with senior citizens from the high-rise. Each have experiences that they can share."

The high school has a new gym, cooking facilities, classrooms. It can be a hub for activity.

"The goal within 30 days is to be able to say this is how we put full service extended school into practice in Lehighton," Marchetti said.

A community garden is one idea. "People in the high-rise don't have access to gardens. They could get out and use the earth, feel the soil."

And in the meantime, they will talk as they work side-by-side with the students.

With a degree in anthropology, Marchetti's eyes sparkle as she discusses the possibilities. She will meet with people who have made the program work and the families who have benefited from the ideas.

Her idea is to outline how many people will be needed here in Lehighton, detailing the liabilities, the insurance coverage, the costs and where to get the money to pay for it.

"All that will have to be done is to turn the key," she says.

Skeptical? Spend just five minutes with Marchetti and you will know anything is possible.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.

Marchetti didn't make it on her first application. Her students lived through the process with her and shared her disappointment.

Now they are sharing her joy, as she will Skype with them on a regular basis and show them a world they can one day hope to experience.

As she connects on Skype from the Globe Theatre in London, she will bring lessons to life for them.

She makes a promise to blog daily because the project is all about making connections.

The community will benefit as well. Marchetti wants to spend the four months being the eyes for our community. She's asking people where they would like her to travel, what they want to know about.

The Times News is providing a survey to ask people just those questions. Marchetti will go wherever EasyJet and Ryanair will take her in Finland, Netherlands, Scotland, England and the Republic of Ireland.

She might take on a genealogy project. She'll be presenting in Berlin.

Most importantly, she will be talking to people, learning how we make connections.

"I want people to feel fulfilled in the community," Marchetti says.

She's open to suggestions and even has enthusiasm for the whole town.

"It's a big world," Marchetti says. "But it's small too because people are people are people."

We all have dreams and desires and are thrilled to be able to go on this adventure with Marchetti.

Hang on for the ride and follow her experiences over the next four months in our pages, as well as her daily blog, which will be promoted through www.tnonline.com.

When she returns to Lehighton, her journey won't be over. She'll be embarking on her plan to connect students with the community.

Watch for ways you can enrich your life and others by becoming involved.