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Rahul Gadgeel took part in Project SEARCH, a program that places individuals with special needs in internships at local hospitals, then gives them the opportunity to continue on in that job after the internship is over. A ceremony honring them was held June 8.
Photo by Brendan Losinski
TROY — While June is graduation season, there was a special graduation ceremony June 8 at the Troy School District Services Building for the 13 interns of the Project Search program.
Project Search allows special education students the chance to intern at Corewell Health’s Beaumont Hospital in Troy and the Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital in Royal Oak to improve their job prospects and give them the chance to continue on at the hospitals as full-time employees after the internship is over.
“It’s a life-changing program that offers employment opportunities that they might not get otherwise,” said Chris Evans, the Project Search coordinator at Royal Oak Beaumont Hospital. “Even though the program was started in Cincinnati in 1996, it has since spread all over the world. It’s been very successful at getting these students jobs, both in the hospitals and elsewhere in the community, because the skills they are learning in the program are transferable to other careers. They learn everything from professionalism to soft skills, and many people have stated that it has changed their life.”
Caden Catchick was among the interns who took part in the program and will be continuing on as a hospital employee now that he has completed his internship.
“This program has provided good job skills for people with disabilities,” said Catchick. “If you work hard enough, you can get a job like I did. I will be working at Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital in Royal Oak. I will be working in the kitchen.”
Project Search was created to give more individuals with special needs the tools and lessons they need to hold down a steady job and become self-reliant.
“You have to be in Oakland County, you have to have an (Individualized Education Plan), and you have to be a student ages 18 to 26,” said Evans. “Our applications all go through the Troy School District. They apply, and there is an interview process, and they go through different skill assessments to see strengths and weaknesses and see what department might be the best fit for them.”
“This program helped me by teaching me new job skills. I am very excited. They wanted to hire me really quickly because I did a good job,” added Fabian Aliaj, an intern who will be continuing as an employee starting this summer. “My advice (to someone going into this program) is to keep trying, never give up, and you will always learn new things.”
The interns would perform various responsibilities based on their abilities and interests. This included kitchen, inventory, custodial and reception duties.
“I was working in progressive care,” said Aliaj. “I would stock shelves and refill items like water and hand sanitizer. I am going to work at the hospital full time doing that job.”
This was the first year the program took place at the Royal Oak hospital and the 11th year in Troy, Evans said.
“It’s been so successful in Troy, and the hospital has been very accepting of the program,” Evans said. “I think this was a good start at our hospital. Five wonderful interns took part. It was a privilege to work with all of them, and they learned a lot of skills throughout the year. They are more employable and ready to be employed than they were last August.”
Evans said the program has done a lot for both hospitals in terms of the local attitudes and enthusiasm.
“In Troy, they have taken such an interest in it because they have noticed a big difference in morale and culture,” he said. “I like to think this has started at Royal Oak, even though it has only been a year. You can see the positive impact the interns have had on their departments based on what we’ve heard from the staff.”
More than 100 students have completed the program, 43 have been hired at the Troy and Royal Oak hospitals, and 30 are still currently employed by Corewell Health in southeast Michigan.
“They are in the departments working with the staff, so to have someone there to teach you the job is unparalleled,” said Evans. “It’s a great experience for them to go through this program and for the hospitals, they are able to work with students with unique needs, abilities and interests.”
Catchick said the internship challenged him, but that what he got out of it was enormous.
“This program has a lot of intimidating factors, and you will make mistakes, but you’re human at the end of the day, and you learn a lot,” said Catchick. “I got so much out of it.”
