Ellen DeGeneres Surprises Indy Teacher Who Works 3 Jobs With $10K Donation

Pascual Cubero Soto is a cake decorator, Uber driver, and, most importantly, a second grade teacher at Forest Glen Elementary School in Lawrence Township.

"Ive always believed that being a teacher is a calling. It’s not something you decide … I cannot think about doing anything else right now. Teaching is the one thing I can do the best," he said on Monday.

Cubero Soto appeared on Ellen DeGeneres' daytime show after he tagged her in a tweet. One of his students was reading a story about gorillas so Cubero Soto sent out a tweet and included DeGeneres since her foundation The Ellen Fund supports endangered species.

Once DeGeneres learned how dedicated Cubero Soto is to teaching and his students, she knew she had to have him on his show. Cubero Soto has quite the story, too. He's originally from Puerto Rico but moved to Indiana two years ago to continue his teaching career.

Recently, he's been working two extra jobs to make ends meet and to buy pandemic-related supplies for his classroom, including plexiglass dividers for students' desks.

On Monday, Cubero Soto thought he was going to do Zoom call with someone from The Ellen Fund to talk about his class. Instead he appeared as a guest on Ellen's show, and this was only the first surprise.

As a thank you for all of Cubero Soto's hard work and dedication, DeGeneres is sending his students some goodies and gave the school $10,000 for its technology needs. On top of that, Cubero Soto was given $10,000 for whatever his heart desires.

Photo: Getty Images