Gooch and job coaches like John Rangel are tough on the interns. For them to be able to learn the skills they need to get a job and keep a job has just been wonderful.”īut the process and transition aren’t easy. “They have been told they can’t do things. “This is what we want for all of them,” she said. I do dishes and serve drinks to the citizens there. “I’m working in the dietary department at Presbyterian Manor,” Stump said. Leading up to the current class, Newton area Project SEARCH was one graduate away from 100 percent job placement.Ģ015 graduate Laz Stump, Newton is adding to the success rate. While nationwide rates show just 17 percent of individuals with intellectual disabilities employed, Project SEARCH graduates enjoy a 70-percent employment rate nationwide. “During this transition when you see that light switch come on you know they have hope for when they leave,” Gooch said. Since that time, as part of the Harvey County Special Education Cooperative program, participants have worked to gain employability skills, and managed workplace internships for as they transition from high school to adult life. Started in Cincinnati in 1995, Project SEARCH came to Harvey County in August 2011. I couldn’t be prouder of this group and the work you did.” “We’re hear tonight to celebrate them and let them know that though the year was tough, it was a time of growth,” program coordinator Jeremy Gooch told ceremony crowd. Not only for Burns - who also took home the first ever Intern of the Year award - but for six other project search grads who came to the end of an experience that allowed them to realize their capabilities through hard work. It’s a story of accomplishment, and overcoming the odds. The smile spread across John Burns’ face as he accepted his diploma and certificate of completion upon his graduation from Project SEARCH told the story Thursday night.
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