The Heart of the Working People Part 1 ~by Sue Ellen Stordahl-Kitchel

Making a Difference ~ by Sue Ellen Stordahl-Kitchel

Growing up in a small rural town in Montana was a luxury that I will forever be grateful for. Cut Bank was a booming oil town when I lived there from 1956 to 1974. Our community was strong, our teachers were some of the best in the state and my clan of relatives made sure I stayed out of trouble. Growing up with an alcoholic father could have made my life take a different path, but the amazing support I had from my extended family and community only made me more determined to move forward.


Those Montana roots showed me that resiliency was key and at the

end of the day, the only choice. Ms. Eleanor Smith, a teacher at Cut Bank High School, took me under her wing and made certain I stayed focused on my grades and guided my determination to get into college. With her help, 11 scholarships and a borrowed suitcase, I headed to Montana State University in the fall of 1974.

My career working with at-risk youth started with a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Justice.  I did my internship at a youth residential treatment facility in Great Falls, MT.  Families with drug and alcohol abuse were the common theme in the backgrounds of the youth I served. I realized early on how fortunate I was that I had a supportive community and an amazing teacher who mentored me.  It easily could have been me in their shoes.  

I started my professional career in Bremerton, WA working as an employment counselor for the Dept. of Labor Training Programs for low-income youth.  A majority of the youth in the program were dabbling with the law, doing poorly in school, and needed positive intervention to stay out of the court system. I felt certain that with proper training and support, they would break the cycle of poverty and stay clear of the juvenile justice system.  

This amazing journey lasted 20 years and provided a library of inspiring stories and positive outcomes for kids.  Add another 15 years of working in a high school as a School-to-Work Coordinator, continued education for a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and a Career & Technical Teaching Degree and we arrive on the doorstep of the Washington Youth Academy National Guard Youth Challenge Program in July of 2013.  I am wrapping up my 41st year of working with at-risk teens and this program is the pinnacle of my years of service.   

The mission and vision of the Washington Youth Academy is to

provide at-risk youth a quality education, positive values, and life and job skills training that will help change their lives and give them hope and opportunity for a new future.  

Funded by the National Guard, the program uses quasi-military training to instill the importance of integrity, discipline, and hard work to reach their goals.  

It has been difficult to change the impression that some have that we are a “boot camp” for bad kids.  In truth, we serve youth who recognize that if they don’t make a change in their lives, they won’t graduate from high school or achieve their dreams.  We don’t train soldiers – we use structure and consequences to develop positive work habits.  

Students come to us looking for a second chance for success. They enter the program failing their academic classes and leave 6 months later with A’s and B’s.  They get 8 hours of sleep, 3 healthy meals, daily physical fitness and group counseling and support.  There are no cell phones, no computer games, no relationship distractions – just positive youth development from sun up to sun down.  

Washington Youth Academy is rated one of the top performing

Youth Challenge Programs in the Nation.  Although the program is young in age, opening just 10 years ago, we have designed, delivered, re-evaluated, and enhanced our strategies to provide one of the most cost effective educational intervention programs available.  

My role in this amazing program is as a supervisor for the team of 9 in charge of Outreach and Admissions and Case Management.  Additionally, we offer one of the most valuable mentoring programs in the nation by matching youth with a mentor from their hometown.  The mentor provides support to the youth once they graduate from the program and return home.  

While attending the Academy, youth make tremendous gains, both educationally and emotionally.  They learn to be effective leaders while also understanding importance of being able to follow.  Graduates leave the Washington Youth Academy with 8 school credits to apply towards their deficiencies in their home high school.  They leave confident, inspired, and ready to take on the world.  

Unfortunately, while they have made amazing strides towards

improving their life’s journey, those at home have not changed.  Family dynamics may still be dysfunctional.  Their friends are still using drugs and alcohol, skipping school, and making bad choices.  This is where the Mentor steps in to guide, support and encourage them to stay the course.  

All of us can point to a time in our lives when a caring, supportive adult stepped in to mentor and guide us.  In the words of a wise man, “The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.” — Steven Spielberg.  

I am thankful every day for Eleanor Smith – for her guidance, her support and undying encouragement.  But most of all, I am thankful for giving me the opportunity to create myself.  She gave me courage and wisdom and helped me recognize my innate ability to make a difference in the youth whose lives I have touched.  I am a blessed woman!

Sue Ellen Stordahl-Kitchel