“You Can’t Take Monica from Monica”

From Teacher Stories by Teacher Stories

May 12, 2025 · 30 min

About this episode

Monica Juliana shares her inspiring journey from a challenging upbringing to finding support and success through education.

“You can take all of my belongings. You can make me carry my life in a trash bag. I can be homeless. You can even take my family from me if that's what you must do, but you can't take Monica from Monica.” Those are the words of Monica Juliana, a high school student from West Virginia who endured an especially challenging upbringing, the kind that would have prevented most children from succeeding in school. “A lot of my childhood was bouncing around, living in cars, panhandling for money while my dad was in jail. We lived in a U-Haul for a little bit. I would say I was a backwards child. I mean, I didn't speak for the first couple of years of my life,” Monica recalled. But a veteran math teacher named Susan McMichael took notice of an intriguing new 8th-grade student at her middle school. “Even though it was less than a minute encounter with Monica, the way she held herself, the way she walked across the room, I felt something special there,” Susan said. Soon, she would take Monica in as a foster child and eventually adopt her. “I always worked especially hard with the girls,” Susan said. She would tell them, “You are important, but you need an education to get you through life.”…

People in this episode

Guest: Monica Juliana

Topics covered

education
foster care
overcoming adversity

Keywords

high school
West Virginia
math teacher
adoption

Mentioned in this episode

Places: West Virginia, Washington, D.C.