For Kristi Martin ’01, the most fulfilling part of her job is the relationships she has built with the residents of The Summit. As executive director, she sees it as her duty to make people feel at home.
“Resident well-being is one of my top priorities,” she said.
On her rounds, she checks in on residents, asking them how their days are going, making sure everything runs smoothly. In return, she feels rewarded by their wealth of wisdom.
“They have a lifetime of stories and wisdom to give,” Martin said.
She talked about those she has developed close relationships with — three women who worked for the CIA, a man they call their “walking miracle” due to his fight against brain cancer, and five residents over the age of 100 for whom The Summit threw a quasi-birthday party “just to add a little pizzazz into their lives and a little fun.”
Martin has a background in nursing, for which she trained at the University of Lynchburg. Her college experience was not typical. In her third year of the program, she gave birth to her first child, a daughter.
It was a trying time. As a single parent, she had to juggle multiple roles: During the week, she was a nursing student, and on weekends she worked full-time to provide for her daughter and herself.
“I was one of the few nursing students with children,” she said, “let alone a newborn, so my focus and my priorities were different from those of my classmates.”
Luckily for Martin, her support network of professors was what she describes as “phenomenal.” Her professors worked closely with her, always attentive to her needs. Their engagement and flexibility, combined with her hard work and resilience, meant she was able to succeed.
“I couldn’t have asked for anything better. It was just amazing,” she said. “It really was. … [They] enabled me to be as successful as I was.”
When Martin finally earned her nursing degree in 2001, her daughter was there to watch her cross the stage.
In her role at The Summit, she is now in a position to give back to the community. Part of her role is strategic planning for the campus, which is undergoing a multimillion dollar expansion. Plans include building cottages for independent living and a memory support building.
Martin also handles community relations through partnerships, such as the Rotary Club of Forest, Lynchburg Daily Bread, Brookhill Farm, and the local Stand Up program, which helps high school students with intellectual disabilities gain real job experience.
“We don’t want to be just a sheltered little senior living community,” Martin said. “We really want to be present out in Lynchburg and the greater area, getting involved.”
For students pursuing a career in healthcare, Martin said, “It’s definitely one of the most rewarding careers, no matter what aspect of healthcare you choose to go into. … Just know the beauty of it is there’s so many options for you.
“You just have to find your niche and figure out what provides you with purpose, action, and joy in a career.”
