A Familiar Face
As one of the longest-tenured employees at Mountain Valley, Becca Winant knows her way around the program. She’s one of the faces of admissions, a key piece in organizing the annual alumni reunion, and has served in many roles over the years, including Wellness & Yoga Teacher and Residential Supervisor. She’s passionate about health and wellness education and believes in the power of movement and mindfulness to improve anxiety. Becca’s next role will be mom of two when her family welcomes a second daughter shortly—and as her life changes, she knows she’ll always stay connected to the Mountain Valley family.
Tell us about your background?
“I was born and raised in New Hampshire. I went to college at Plymouth State University and that’s where my husband and I met. We rooted in White Mountains regions for some time and then before I had my first daughter, Amelia, we moved to the Lakes region.
Throughout college I practiced yoga and during my senior year, I pursued the Yoga Teacher Training certification (YTT 200). I started teaching in the community and continued taking other certifications in mindfulness. Yoga has always been there for me to help get into that body connection. I played volleyball in college and being active has always helped soothe my own anxiety.
Once I graduated, I started to explore other career options and discovered Mountain Valley in 2015. The opportunity to work with teenagers with anxiety really kind of drew me there. I figured I’d had some expertise with my own anxiety, so I wanted to see what working in the mental health field was all about. I started off as a residential counselor on the back half shift in 2016.”
What has your time at Mountain Valley looked like over the years?
“When I started working at Mountain Valley, I had the opportunity to lead some physical wellness modules and pretty quickly moved into the day shift. Then I created a health and wellness module with a focus on yoga and meditation for all our residents. That was a big part of what I did for several years. It was awesome since I graduated with a health education and promotion degree and had the yoga mindfulness background as well.
I got to take residents off campus, and we’d go on all sorts of adventures throughout New Hampshire—hiking, apple picking, outdoor yoga, river trips. I loved that part of the job, getting them into different interests and hobbies. I also worked as a residential supervisor before transitioning to my current role as admissions manager.”
Tell us about your role in admissions, what you enjoy and a challenge you face?
“I love having the opportunity to try something completely different. I found a passion working on the outside with prospective families and residents. Because I’ve been at Mountain Valley for so many years, I have a lot of program insight I can share with them.
I find so much enjoyment in bringing families and prospective residents on campus for a tour and I have a lot of confidence to talk about Mountain Valley. I know the ins and outs, and families find that really helpful.
Sometimes we run into a difficult situation where a new resident shuts down right before they come in to enroll. It can be a struggle to get them on campus and that can be a little tricky to navigate, but we have a good team. I find it’s helpful to just meet them where they are, and I work with Everett and Zack to help coach the parents. Usually, it’s a matter of giving them some time and space, and you can also connect them to a previous or current resident to build a bit more trust.”
What’s been your favorite thing about working at Mountain Valley?
“Probably teaching yoga. I always thought it was super meaningful to get an individual on a mat and sit for a mindfulness meditation. I could guide them in breathwork and we could talk about the experience together. It made me feel like I directly helped the residents and made a difference. I also loved taking residents off campus for activities—seeing them smiling and excited as we tried different things.”
How has Mountain Valley changed over your time here?
“So many different ways! First and foremost I think our location is without a doubt, just incredible—the amount of space we have and how all our buildings are together. We have a beautiful campus for all the different weekly programming and it makes a huge difference. Obviously offering the different therapeutic activity modules continue to evolve and change. The decision to add farm animals to campus is a huge, wonderful benefit, since the residents actively participate in their care. Integrating occupational therapy has been a big win as well. It’s been a creative way to add new kinds of exposure work.”
As a local native who lives in the Lakes Region, which lake is your favorite?
“Newfound Lake. We live right down the road, and it’s said to have some of the cleanest water of any lake in the world. It’s also one of the deepest lakes in New Hampshire!”
