From Unworthy to Superstar! – Turning on the Lights

This 6-part story was shared on LinkedIn in spring/summer 2025. It captures the Monica Hernandez learning culture story in the Masters in Social Work Program in the University of Southern California Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work – from “unworthy” to superstar with unlimited potential!

PART 1

Sharing educational wealth: Congratulations to Monica Hernandez (pictured above with her family) for being accepted into the 2025 summer cohort for the Masters in Social Work (MSW) Program in the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work! As a first-generation college student, along with the challenges of being a wife and mother, she struggled in the “dark” through a process of trial-and-error to earn a bachelor’s degree on her way to becoming a community family advocate. Although her undergraduate experience was traumatic, she had a dream of earning an MSW degree, and she unsuccessfully applied twice to the graduate program, with a personal statement that failed to highlight Monica’s success story. However, all of this changed, when we had a chance meeting last fall, because I helped her to change the narrative. I congratulated her for her success as an undergraduate who overcame many challenges, especially being in the dark, and I gave her hope and true empowerment by directing her to complete the self-paced, interactive learning culture training plan on the turning-on-the-lights.com website – and she did! Unlike her undergraduate experience, she now knows what it means to have a mindset for learning, and she knows how to effectively approach the learning – and all of this contributed to a successful application to the MSW Program. Although her acceptance requires that she “keep a 3.0 average GPA in the first semester,” empowered by the learning culture, Monica’s focus will be on the learning, with the confidence that the grades will follow and she will achieve her dream – this is the power of the learning culture, and I can’t wait to attend Monica’s graduation from the MSW Program! The learning culture revolution has begun at turning-on-the-lights.com. There is no longer a reason for any student to remain in the dark with regards to the culture for learning which exists in every institution of higher education. Thank you for sharing. Revolutionaries are invited to take this revolution wherever it is needed! FightOn University of Southern California

PART 2

Sharing educational wealth: “Mind blowing!” This is how Monica Hernandez (pictured above with her family) described the difference between her undergraduate experience in the “dark” and her experience now in the light of the learning culture as she prepares to begin her studies next Monday, May 19, in the 2025 summer cohort for the Masters in Social Work (MSW) Program in the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work! As a first-generation college student, along with the challenges of being a wife and mother, she struggled in the “dark” through a process of trial-and-error to earn a bachelor’s degree on her way to becoming a community family advocate. However, empowered with the learning culture after completing the self-paced, interactive learning culture training plan on the Turning on the Lights website, Monica now truly knows what it means to have a mindset for learning, and she is equipped with effective strategies for approaching the learning, beginning with the “Semester Kickoff” strategy to have a strong start to the summer term. This includes completing Bullet Point Reading (BPR) outlines for the first chapters to be covered in her classes; creating a Plan of Attack for each class to track her progress; preparing binders with dividers (BPR, Lecture Notes, Homework, Section Summaries) to organize her class work; creating a time plan in Excel for Week 1 to be updated each Friday, and contacting her professors to meet with them during Week 1 to begin building relationships using the “Hello, my name is” strategy. In fact, she has a meeting scheduled with a professor this week before the start of the program – because this is what you do in the learning culture! Now that she is fully in control of her learning, Monica is entering the MSW program with great excitement and the confidence to succeed. I’m very proud her, but why can’t this be the new “normal” for all first-time students, especially first-generation college students? Higher education leaders must be “student-centered” and have the urgency to turn on the lights for students (if you’re still unsure, then solicit the opinion of any current student who is struggling in the dark!). The learning culture revolution has begun at turning-on-the-lights.com. There is no longer a reason for any student to remain in the dark with regards to the culture for learning which exists in every institution of higher education. Thank you for sharing. Revolutionaries are invited to take this revolution wherever it is needed! FightOn University of Southern California

PART 3

Sharing educational wealth: The Monica Hernandez success story (pictured above with her family) in the Masters in Social Work (MSW) Program of the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work continues!

My April LinkedIn post (tinyurl.com/3n7w3mr2) congratulated her – after I “turned on the lights” to give her a Creator frame of mind, she was accepted into the 2025 MSW summer cohort. Two previous unsuccessful attempts caused feelings of unworthiness. As a first-generation college student, along with the challenges of being a wife and mother, she struggled in the “dark” through a process of trial-and-error to earn a bachelor’s degree on her way to becoming a community family advocate.

My May LinkedIn update (tinyurl.com/3sfzr9ny) simply began with “Mind blowing!” This is how Monica described the difference between her undergraduate experience in the “dark” and her experience in the light of the learning culture as she prepared to begin her studies on May 19 in the MSW Program.

June has arrived, and Monica checks in with me after each week in her program. Her transformation has been spectacular – from anxiety to complete confidence and control in the bright light of the learning culture! Here is her Friday text for Week 3:

“Just checking in. Week 3 completed. 👍 Class discussions and participation went amazing this week. Week 4 preparation, class material, and async (work) is all completed and ready for review on spare times, and my Week 5 list is all set. Dare I say I got an assignment completed that is due Week 5, but had some time to work on it this week. Just pending submission now. 🙌 ”

I’m very proud of Monica. Empowered with the learning culture – including 1) having a mindset for learning (most important part!), and 2) knowing how to approach the learning, she is loving her learning experience in the MSW Program, and she is also learning about herself. It’s just a matter of time before she realizes her dream of earning an MSW degree, and I can’t wait to attend her graduation! But why can’t this be the “new normal”? Higher education leaders must be “student-centered” and have the urgency to turn on the lights for students when they begin their college studies (if you’re still unsure, then ask Monica!). The learning culture revolution has begun at turning-on-the-lights.com. There is no longer a reason for any student to remain in the dark with regards to the culture for learning which exists in every institution of higher education. Thank you for sharing. Revolutionaries are invited to take this revolution wherever it is needed! FightOn University of Southern California

PART 4

Sharing educational wealth: From “unworthy” to superstar – the mentee who has become a mentor in the Masters in Social Work (MSW) Program of the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work! This is the learning culture success story of Monica Hernandez (pictured above), as chronicled on LinkedIn – acceptance to MSW program (April tinyurl.com/3n7w3mr2), “mind blowing” pre-program prep (May tinyurl.com/3sfzr9ny), and complete confidence and control in Week 3 (June tinyurl.com/3v86s6nf).

Monica’s exemplary work in the program has been recognized by her professors, and she is admired by peers for her mastery of the material in classes – unknowing that her super power is the learning culture, including 1) having a mindset for learning (most important part!), and 2) knowing how to approach the learning!

In week 8, which just concluded for her Self-awareness and Intercultural Humility in Social Work class, Monica was grouped with 3 other peers for a final assignment – 2 females, 1 Latino, and, like Monica, they too were first-generation grads. However, unlike Monica, her peers remain in the “dark” with regards to the learning culture, and this is causing them to have academic challenges in the MSW program (trauma!) similar to their undergrad experience. Having briefly shared their challenges, Monica seized the moment as a mentor by introducing her group to the learning culture and the resources available on the Turning on the Lights website – which caused a lively discussion about learning culture and social work. Convinced that all entering MSW students must be introduced to the learning culture and its benefit to social work, Monica’s group has chosen to focus their assignment on learning culture in the context of social work – and their “target” audience are the MSW faculty! Stay tuned for an update. Final group presentations are scheduled for the last two weeks of the term (weeks 11-12).

Yes, this too epitomizes the power of the learning culture, but higher education leaders must be “student-centered” and have the urgency to turn on the lights for students at all levels of higher education (if you’re still unsure, then ask Monica’s group!). The learning culture revolution has begun at turning-on-the-lights.com. There is no longer a reason for any student to remain in the dark with regards to the culture for learning which exists in every institution of higher education. Thank you for sharing. Revolutionaries are invited to take this revolution wherever it is needed! FightOn University of Southern California

PART 5

Sharing educational wealth: From “unworthy” to superstar, mentor, and now leader in the Masters in Social Work (MSW) Program of the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work! As chronicled on LinkedIn, this is the 5th update of the Monica Hernandez (pictured above) learning culture success story.

As shared in the previous Week 8 update (tinyurl.com/y6f7nuv4), Monica was grouped with 3 other peers for a final assignment in the Self-awareness and Intercultural Humility in Social Work class – 2 females, 1 Latino, and, like Monica, they too were first-generation grads. After Monica introduced them to the learning culture – including 1) having a mindset for learning (most important part!), and 2) knowing how to approach the learning, they chose to focus their assignment on learning culture in the context of social work – and their “target” audience are the MSW faculty!

Week 10 just concluded and Monica’s group has enjoyed a transformational experience by immersing themselves in the learning culture to prepare their presentation, which is titled “Breaking Barriers: Creating Inclusive Educational Spaces for First-Generation College Students”! Monica added, “The purpose is to introduce Turning on the Lights and encourage implementation of the (learning culture) content at the faculty level to promote first-generation student empowerment and success.” Final group presentations are scheduled for Weeks 11-12, and Monica’s group will be the first to present on Friday, August 1st!

I celebrate Monica’s group for their inspiration and leadership as “revolutionaries”! This too epitomizes the power of the learning culture, but higher education leaders must be “student-centered” and have the urgency to turn on the lights for students at all levels of higher education (if you’re still unsure, then ask Monica’s group!). The learning culture revolution has begun at turning-on-the-lights.com. There is no longer a reason for any student to remain in the dark with regards to the culture for learning which exists in every institution of higher education. Thank you for sharing. Revolutionaries are invited to take this revolution wherever it is needed! FightOn University of Southern California

PART 6

Sharing educational wealth: It’s official – Monica Hernandez (pictured above) is a superstar with unlimited potential in the Masters in Social Work (MSW) Program of the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work! Week 12 concluded yesterday. It was the final week of her first term in the program, and she crushed it. This is the 6th update of her learning culture success story (see week 10 update at tinyurl.com/2teb8r5u). As chronicled on LinkedIn, in only one term, she has gone from “unworthy” to superstar, mentor, leader, and now revolutionary! Plus, as the incoming Mentorship Co-Chair for the USC Latinx Caucus in Social Work, she is passionate about empowering new students in her USC program – and none of this would have happened without the learning culture!

She has experienced both sides of the “light-dark” quote below. In the dark – prior to being accepted to the social work program, she experienced trauma and she felt herself drifting away. But everything changed in the light once she was empowered with the learning culture to create her own success. She described her first-term experience as “amazing,” and she understands first-hand what was previously shared by one of my MESA legends, “The learning culture will take you to places you never imagined!” Yet I’m not surprised because this is exactly what is expected when students are empowered with the powerful language of success and effective strategies for approaching the learning, which are found in the learning culture – but is anyone listening?

I celebrate Monica for her success. I’m very proud of her. She too epitomizes the power of the learning culture, but higher education leaders must be “student-centered” and have the urgency to turn on the lights for students at all levels of higher education – either you’re part of the solution or you’re part of the problem! (if you’re still unsure, then ask Monica!). The learning culture revolution has begun at turning-on-the-lights.com. There is no longer a reason for any student to remain in the dark with regards to the culture for learning which exists in every institution of higher education. Thank you for sharing. Revolutionaries are invited to take this revolution wherever it is needed! FightOn University of Southern California