{"id":7151,"date":"2019-12-19T15:02:55","date_gmt":"2019-12-19T20:02:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grafton.local\/?post_type=case-study&p=7151"},"modified":"2019-12-19T16:00:19","modified_gmt":"2019-12-19T21:00:19","slug":"after-40-years-alum-recounts-how-grafton-changed-his-life","status":"publish","type":"case-study","link":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/stories\/after-40-years-alum-recounts-how-grafton-changed-his-life\/","title":{"rendered":"After 40 Years, Alum Recounts How Grafton Changed His Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Grafton celebrates its 60th anniversary, we\u2019ve had parents, teachers, and alumni reach out to share memories of their time here. Many of those stories remind us just how much the organization has changed over the years. We recently connected with former Berryville student Mike McCauley, who attended Grafton in the late 1970s. In those days, a large population of our students \u2013 including Mike \u2013 came into our care due to behavioral issues, rather than those that are developmental in nature. We also lacked the modern technology we have today, such as a security system that ensures children remain safely on campus. With that in mind, we would like to share Mike\u2019s experience at Grafton more than 40 years ago.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Left: Mike McCauley shortly after graduating from Grafton. Right: A recent photo of McCauley with his wife.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Mike McCauley was a troubled 12-year-old. He smoked cigarettes, got into fistfights at school, and was in and out of juvenile court for petty crimes. His parents separated when he was a baby and his mother worked multiple jobs to support her three children. The family lived in a working-class Richmond neighborhood where violence and racist attitudes were commonplace, and he became a product of his environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a punk. In that part of town, you had to be tough or you were going to get whooped constantly,\u201d remembers Mike. \u201cI had long hair, wore leather jackets, and I had racist views.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1977, after being suspended from school countless times, the state took custody of Mike and sent him to live at Grafton\u2019s Berryville campus. The transition wasn\u2019t easy. For the first time in his life, he was subjected to a strict behavioral code and had to live in close quarters with black classmates. He maintained his tough exterior, but he often cried when he was alone and longed to go home.<\/p>\n

Determined to run away, Mike asked a classmate on the autism spectrum \u2013 who happened to have a gift for maps \u2013 to draw the railroad tracks between Berryville and Richmond. The makeshift map worked, and he made the 130-mile journey home by hitching rides on trains and digging potatoes out of fields to eat along the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the beginning I was an absolute hellion. I got into fights fairly regularly,\u201d he says. \u201cBut it didn\u2019t take long for me to realize, the people I\u2019m in here with are the same as me. They have the same problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

During his second year at Grafton, something started to shift in Mike. Despite his rebellious behavior, he realized the counselors truly cared about him.<\/p>\n

He fondly remembers his favorite counselor, Tyrone Wilson, taking students off campus to watch movies and hang out. Spending time with Tyrone, who was black, made Mike rethink his prejudices about people of color. \u201cHe was an awesome guy. He made you feel like he was there for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also credits Ada Belle Yowell, a reading tutor who worked at Grafton for 22 years, with turning his attitude around. \u201cShe had a great deal of patience and was one of the primary reasons I mellowed out as much as I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once Mike\u2019s behavior improved, he was allowed to go on overnight field trips with his classmates. He remembers hiking to Harper\u2019s Ferry on the Appalachian Trail, visiting hot springs near Leesburg, and taking a canoeing trip down the Wisconsin River. In the winter the kids would go sledding on a hill behind the Manor House, and in the summer a local farmer would let them fish and swim in his pond.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was some of the best times of my life, it turns out,\u201d says Mike, who graduated from Berryville when he was 15. \u201cI started to feel like I was at home there, and I stopped missing home so much. I was honestly sad to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today Mike is a successful airbrush artist with his own custom paint and collision repair shop in Richmond. He\u2019s been married for 30 years and has a third grandchild on the way. Looking back, he insists that Grafton was the key to turning his life around.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt changed my whole attitude about race. It made me look at people in an entirely different way,\u201d he says. \u201cBefore I went to Grafton, nobody would have guessed that I would own a successful business, have my own home, and get married \u2013 but that\u2019s exactly what I\u2019ve done. I truly believe it\u2019s because of Grafton that I am where I am now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-7151","case-study","type-case-study","status-publish","hentry","case-studiestypes-success-stories"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAfter 40 Years, Alum Recounts How Grafton Changed His Life - Grafton<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/case-studies\/after-40-years-alum-recounts-how-grafton-changed-his-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"After 40 Years, Alum Recounts How Grafton Changed His Life - Grafton\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As Grafton celebrates its 60th anniversary, we\u2019ve had parents, teachers, and alumni reach out to share memories of their time here. Many of those stories remind us just how much the organization has changed over the years. We recently connected with former Berryville student Mike McCauley, who attended Grafton in the late 1970s. In those […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/case-studies\/after-40-years-alum-recounts-how-grafton-changed-his-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Grafton\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GraftonNetwork\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-12-19T21:00:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Photos-1024x477.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@GraftonNetwork\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/case-studies\/after-40-years-alum-recounts-how-grafton-changed-his-life\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/case-studies\/after-40-years-alum-recounts-how-grafton-changed-his-life\/\",\"name\":\"After 40 Years, Alum Recounts How Grafton Changed His Life - Grafton\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/case-studies\/after-40-years-alum-recounts-how-grafton-changed-his-life\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/case-studies\/after-40-years-alum-recounts-how-grafton-changed-his-life\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Photos-1024x477.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-12-19T20:02:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-12-19T21:00:19+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/case-studies\/after-40-years-alum-recounts-how-grafton-changed-his-life\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/case-studies\/after-40-years-alum-recounts-how-grafton-changed-his-life\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/case-studies\/after-40-years-alum-recounts-how-grafton-changed-his-life\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Photos-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Photos-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1192,\"caption\":\"Left: Mike McCauley shortly after graduating from Grafton. Right: A recent photo of McCauley with his wife.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/case-studies\/after-40-years-alum-recounts-how-grafton-changed-his-life\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"After 40 Years, Alum Recounts How Grafton Changed His Life\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/\",\"name\":\"Grafton\",\"description\":\"Grafton School, Inc.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Grafton Integrated Health Network\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/logo.png\",\"width\":1779,\"height\":417,\"caption\":\"Grafton Integrated Health Network\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GraftonNetwork\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/GraftonNetwork\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/grafton-integrated-health-network\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCZpWv7VpQhOMTqj2-dTCTfQ\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"After 40 Years, Alum Recounts How Grafton Changed His Life - Grafton","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/case-studies\/after-40-years-alum-recounts-how-grafton-changed-his-life\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"After 40 Years, Alum Recounts How Grafton Changed His Life - Grafton","og_description":"As Grafton celebrates its 60th anniversary, we\u2019ve had parents, teachers, and alumni reach out to share memories of their time here. Many of those stories remind us just how much the organization has changed over the years. We recently connected with former Berryville student Mike McCauley, who attended Grafton in the late 1970s. In those […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/case-studies\/after-40-years-alum-recounts-how-grafton-changed-his-life\/","og_site_name":"Grafton","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GraftonNetwork","article_modified_time":"2019-12-19T21:00:19+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Photos-1024x477.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@GraftonNetwork","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/case-studies\/after-40-years-alum-recounts-how-grafton-changed-his-life\/","url":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/case-studies\/after-40-years-alum-recounts-how-grafton-changed-his-life\/","name":"After 40 Years, Alum Recounts How Grafton Changed His Life - Grafton","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/case-studies\/after-40-years-alum-recounts-how-grafton-changed-his-life\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/case-studies\/after-40-years-alum-recounts-how-grafton-changed-his-life\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Photos-1024x477.jpg","datePublished":"2019-12-19T20:02:55+00:00","dateModified":"2019-12-19T21:00:19+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/case-studies\/after-40-years-alum-recounts-how-grafton-changed-his-life\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/case-studies\/after-40-years-alum-recounts-how-grafton-changed-his-life\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/case-studies\/after-40-years-alum-recounts-how-grafton-changed-his-life\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Photos-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Photos-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1192,"caption":"Left: Mike McCauley shortly after graduating from Grafton. Right: A recent photo of McCauley with his wife."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/case-studies\/after-40-years-alum-recounts-how-grafton-changed-his-life\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"After 40 Years, Alum Recounts How Grafton Changed His Life"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/","name":"Grafton","description":"Grafton School, Inc.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/#organization","name":"Grafton Integrated Health Network","url":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/logo.png","width":1779,"height":417,"caption":"Grafton Integrated Health Network"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GraftonNetwork","https:\/\/x.com\/GraftonNetwork","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/grafton-integrated-health-network\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCZpWv7VpQhOMTqj2-dTCTfQ"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case-study\/7151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case-study"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/case-study"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case-study\/7151\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7166,"href":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case-study\/7151\/revisions\/7166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}