Meet Lily Jocham
Summit Achievement has a new Marketing Director! Lily Wilkinson Jocham has worked in outreach and admissions for therapeutic programs since graduating from college. She has collaborated with Summit’s leadership several times over the past few years on marketing projects such as the new website launch in 2020 and various events and communications. Now she is officially joining the team! We asked Lily some questions about her background, her new role, and what excites her most about working for Summit.
Tell us a little bit about your background, Lily. How did you first start working in this field? I’ve always been very interested in working in mental health. As a teenager and young adult I struggled with my own mental health and, after a few tough years, was lucky enough to find really exemplary treatment and support. I went to a Wilderness Therapy program followed by a transitional living program for young adults in Colorado. After my own experience I knew I wanted to help other young people and their families find the same kind of help I got!
What has been your favorite thing about working in marketing/outreach and admissions? I really enjoy the work of helping people understand what programs like Summit Achievement and Summit Traverse do and how they’re suited to help students and their families. Sometimes that means talking to parents about the program and helping them to make a decision that works for their family. Other times that means attending conferences and connecting with colleagues in the field. I’ve met so many amazing and inspiring people through this work!
How did you come to work at Summit? In 2020 my husband and I made the decision to move back to New England from Denver. Once back east, I really felt like I wanted to work somewhere local! I started consulting with Summit and several other programs as an independent contractor, and I loved getting to learn about Summit’s program and collaborating with their leadership! Now I’ll be officially part of the team and I’m thrilled.
What do you want people to know about Summit? Summit Achievement is unique for so many reasons. First and foremost, Summit has been in operation for close to 30 years. Especially right now with so much uncertainty in our field, programs like Summit are important to remember– we’re just as resilient as our students!
Summit also stands out because we are both a licensed and robust therapeutic program as well as an accredited small boarding school. While the normalized continuum is often Wilderness Therapy or an RTC followed by a therapeutic boarding school, both Summit Achievement and Summit Traverse involve time in the classroom. Students in Achievement spend three days a week on our campus with classroom instruction from teachers, and at Summit Traverse students are in the classroom for five days. This way students can practice transitioning in and out of school. Not only does this mean most of our students have a shorter length of stay than they would at other programs (they are practicing challenging transitions weekly after all), but also it means we can award credit for work done while at Summit so students can more easily transition to a traditional school or boarding school upon graduation.
Anything you’re looking forward to this summer? Welcoming old friends and new colleagues to come tour Summit! It’s a great time to visit Maine!