Joanna Lilley, NCC, of Lilley Consulting partnered with Shayna Abraham, of Prepare to Bloom, Fusion Academy, and Holden High School to create the Virtual Alt Fair Series.  The mini-series include interviews of programs that support high school graduates or current college students searching for a gap year alternative.  These interviews highlight outlier opportunities that families may not find when doing a traditional gap year search. The goal is for every adolescent, young adult, and parent to know there are more options available than they may initially discover during an online search. 

An Alt Fair in both California and Colorado was planned for Spring 2020 and respectfully canceled due to COVID-19.  Transitioning to hosting this virtually was not something Joanna or Shayna considered exploring until the topic of “virtual college” for Fall 2020 exploded.  “After reading one article that subliminally eluded to high school graduates’ only option being to pause on life if not attending college, I knew we had to spring into action to educate families about their options,” said Lilley, “There are amazing programs that are members of the Gap Year Association, and yet that’s not all-inclusive of the opportunities that exist. When the entire high school graduating Class of 2020 is looking for a Plan B, awareness and knowledge of these resources is imperative.” 

The first three recordings are available and downloadable on YouTube. Email Stacy@PrepareToBloom.com to receive the registration links for future Virtual Alt Fair events.  If you or anyone you know is struggling to find a good fit for gap year opportunities, you can email joanna@lilleyconsulting.com or Shayna@PrepareToBloom.com.

About Lilley Consulting and Prepare to Bloom 

Since 2016, Lilley Consulting has been helping families and young adults find treatment options during a time of transition or crisis.  Joanna dedicates herself to working solely with emerging adults who unravel before going to college, when they land on a college campus, or right after college graduation.  Young Adulthood can be messy, but it doesn’t have to be if you find the best treatment resources at the time that you need them.

Prepare To Bloom is a San Francisco Bay Area-based therapeutic and educational consulting firm devoted to helping families make sound therapeutic and educational choices, assisting families and their children to find treatment options regionally or out of the home. Founded in the spring of 2011, by Shayna Abraham, MA, CEP, Prepare to Bloom consultants visit over 50 different treatment programs per year. The team works with families around the United States and around the globe.