Rear Row: Cindy Gardner, President SBSSBA President Trustee, Dr. Gwendolyn Dowdy-Rodgers, President of San Bernardino, County Board of Education, Ted Alejandre, County Superintendent (Photo courtesy of San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools)
Bottom Row: Education Medal of Honor recipents Joshua Powell, Monica Stockhausen, Paul Sevillano, Supt. Rim of The World School District (sitting in for Chyrl Russell), Jesse Armendarez, Anne-Marie Cabrales.
Fontana, CA — In a powerful celebration of purpose, service, and student success, the San Bernardino CountySuperintendent of Schools (SBCSS), in partnership with the San Bernardino County School Boards Association (SBCSBA), proudly recognized Rialto native Monica Stockhausen as the 2026 Education Medal of Honor Excellence in Education / Student Alumni honoree during the Spring Awards Ceremony held April 7, 2026 at Sierra Lakes Golf Club inFontana.
An adjunct professor at Chaffey College since 2015, Stockhausen graduated from Mercy College in New York and became a college professor at 24, teaching business and entrepreneurship at Long Island Business Institute.
“I had just graduated with my master’s and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do,” she said in a TV interview before the event started. “I spoke with my department chair, and he said, ‘You can teach here at 24.’ I said, ‘Me? Are you sure? They’re older than me.’ But he knew that I had what it took,” she recalled with a smile. “He saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself just yet. And I said, ‘What the heck. I don’t have anything to lose right now.’ I went to the interview, and I got hired on the spot.”
Since then, she has mentored more than 3,000 students, equipping them with entrepreneurial thinking skills that supportacademic engagement, persistence, and long-term achievement. Her work has been especially impactful among underserved and first-generation college students, whom she supports through both instruction and personal mentorship.
But her impact doesn’t stop at the classroom door.
For her students, she is more than a professor—she is a guide, a connector, and a steady voice reminding them that they belong in rooms they’ve only dreamed about. “I’ve been in this work for over a decade, and to know that my students’lives changed—and that my colleagues can see that as well, it’s really momentous,” said Stockhausen.
An alumna of Wilmer Amina Carter High School and California State University, San Bernardino, she was among fivepeople honored by the school board. “These remarkable leaders have left a lasting imprint on education,” said County Superintendent Ted Alejandre. “Their leadership has made it possible to reach students in every corner of our region, spanning across our urban, rural, desert, and mountain communities. We are incredibly proud to recognize their profound impact and the enduring difference they have made.”
The Education Medal of Honor recognizes individuals and groups who make exceptional contributions to publiceducation in San Bernardino County. It highlights the dedication of
educators, community members, and business partners. Honorees are selected by an independent panel for their exceptional commitment and service throughout the region.
Stockhausen has built a reputation as a trusted guide—someone students can lean on, learn from, and grow with. By fostering authentic relationships and encouraging students to see their own potential, she has helped transform uncertainty into confidence and ambition into action.
She says she loves working at a community college. “I’m training the next mayors of this city. The next businessowners and leaders,” she said. “I love that we can be a community and work together, and that I can support their businesses and they can support mine.”
For Stockhausen, the mission is personal. “My family comes from a line of educators, engineers, and pilots—really brilliant people. I think I fell in line. Even my name, Monica, which means counselor. I’ve always thought about teaching,but I didn’t know I’d be teaching at this level. I’m so blessed and honored that I’m able to experience this.”
As a proud member of the community she now serves, she continues to pour back into the same soil that once nurtured her own journey—proving that when one person rises and reaches back, entire generations can rise with them.
Her story is a reminder that education, at its best, is not just about degrees—it’s about direction. Not just about instruction—but transformation.
“My students say I am funny, and I agree,” she said with laughter. “I use a lot of humor to connect and be relatable. Many of them have said that I am magnetic; I pull them in. I’m engaged. They’re excited to come to my class. I don’t take that lightly.”
In addition to teaching, Stockhausen leads Nerdy Girl Strategic Consulting, a firm specializing in organizational development for established organizations and business development for startups. For more information, visit NerdyGirlStrategy.com.
