Director chosen at TYA

Sommer Woodward

Thunderbird Youth Academy excels in helping young people improve their lives and Michell Graff is excited to oversee and provide direction to the program.

Graff was chosen as the new director at Thunderbird Youth Academy and she began work Monday.

She arrived in Oklahoma Sunday and with no time to lose, hit the ground running.

Graff was born and raised on a ranch in North Dakota. She was the oldest of five girls.

She joined the U.S. Army at the age of 18. She spent 20 years in the U.S. Army reserve and retired as a Major.

In 1986, she received a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from North Dakota University. She later obtained a master’s degree in Education from Washington State University in 1989.

Graff became a certified school counselor and worked in the public school system for a year.

She discovered working in the public school system was not for her and began looking for a career in the public sector.

She became a live-in tutor at a Boys Ranch in Newman Lake, Wash., which housed 28 boys between the ages of 13 and 18.

A military friend in Maryland called Graff one day to ask if she would consider working for a new pilot youth program. The Maryland program was chosen just as the Pryor Thunderbird program was to test the Challenge program.

Graff applied and between two to three months later received a call to fly to Maryland for an interview.

She was offered the job on the spot.

She asked for time to consider and while on the flight home, thought, “Why not?”

Graff packed her belongings and moved to Maryland to begin work in September 1993. She said the name, Challenge, had not been applied to the program yet, so she called the program a military youth camp.

She worked for nine years as the lead counselor in the program.

“There is nothing like working with young people,” she said. “There is no program as wonderful and that does a good a job as Challenge does.”

She said working to help young people who are struggling get their life on track is in her heart.

“Once it’s in your blood it’s there forever,” she said.

Graff explained just like people in the military bleed red, white and blue, “you’re going to bleed Challenge till the day you die.”

In 2002, Graff needed to take a break. She had poured her heart and soul into the Challenge program and she needed some time to think.

She said there is something in her personality which makes her think she needs to “save the world.”

Graff traveled to Montana and spent some time fishing and soul searching.

She decided it was not her job to change the world and was able to be at peace with herself again.

She moved to Lincoln, Neb., to look for work again and was contacted by her old boss in the Maryland Challenge program.

Her old boss told her about the opening in Pryor and she interviewed for the deputy director job.

She received a phone call and was informed someone else had been chosen as the deputy director.

A short time later, she received another call, offering her the job as director instead.

“Here I am by the grace of God,” she said. “It’s a calling. I started with Challenge, left to become a better person and I’m going to continue that road here.”

She hopes to share with the staff and young people “what it is like to continue to improve your life as an adult.”

“It’s a lifelong process,” she said. “And not just to someone who stepped off the trail at 16.”

Graff has never been in Oklahoma except to pass through, but she said moving back to the Midwest feels like home.

She said as director, she is responsible for the overall operation of the facility and she takes that to heart.

Graff said she will strive to challenge herself to keep her imperfections at bay and always remember to have patience.

“Change is good, but it must be done in small steps,” she said.

Graff said her job is to provide oversight for an already excellent program.

Graff recognizes Thunderbird Youth Academy (TYA) in Pryor was already given the overall best program award, but she thinks there is still room for improvement.

She wants TYA to be the best again and again. “We can do it,” she said.

“It’s not about awards,” she said. “It’s about helping young people improve their lives. That is our goal. It will remain our focus.”

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