Teacher was very popular with students
PUBLISHED ONJanuary 01, 2015 10:10 PMByPearl Lee
She was young, took selfies with the students and was so popular they even gave her a nickname.
In a blog post written on Monday, Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) student Felicia Tham, 18, paid tribute to her Indonesian teacher, Ms Florentina Maria Widodo, 26, who was on board AirAsia Flight QZ8501.
"You were young and relatable to us on so many levels, and soon we grew really close," wrote Felicia.
"And you're the only teacher who takes this kind of selfie with us," she added, referring to the many photos which accompanied the post.
A science teacher by training, Ms Widodo taught Felicia's class project work, which students refer to as "PW".
It is a compulsory subject in the A-level examinations and under her guidance, the whole class aced their project work, Felicia wrote in the blog.
It earned Ms Widodo, who also taught biology, the nickname of "PW Goddess" among the students, for it was her first time teaching the subject.
Ms Widodo was in Surabaya to visit her parents, who live there. Her family members, alongside her Singaporean boyfriend, were at the crisis centre at the Juanda International Airport in Surabaya yesterday.
Felicia declined to speak to the media yesterday as Ms Widodo's family has requested her students and friends to not speak to the press.
This article was first published on December 31, 2014.
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