Congratulations, Project SEARCH Graduates!

July 7, 2022

During the recent Project SEARCH graduation at the John H. Ammon Medical Education Center, participants proudly shared some of what they learned about themselves during their nine-month internships at ChristianaCare:

“I like working at a fast pace.”

“I learned that I work well with technology.”

“I was efficient, organized and very helpful.”

Matthew Edwards worked with Mail Room Coordinator Colleen Reed Kern during his internship, posting, delivering and picking up mail. He gained skills in customer service, organization and computers and supported the Mail Room team with his dependability and good work ethic.

Their perspectives on work should delight any prospective employer—and that’s the goal. Through Project SEARCH, students ages 18 to 21 with cognitive disabilities learn job skills through classroom training, mentoring and experience in areas including Pharmacy, Family & Community Medicine and the Helen F. Graham Cancer & Research Institute. The program is credited with helping participants transition from school to a productive work life.

Genea Beulah, a member of the Project SEARCH class of 2022, is also a graduate of ChristianaCare’s First State School, which gives children and adolescents who would otherwise be homebound with serious illnesses the chance to attend school with their peers while they get the medical treatment they need.

At the same time, it helps build ChristianaCare’s talent pipeline. Several past participants in Project SEARCH are still working at ChristianaCare.

ChristianaCare’s Public Safety team hosted Project SEARCH interns Matthew Beck and Kendall Boone, pictured here with (l-r) Corporal Edward Pedrys, Security Systems Manager Keith Ledwon and Major Phil Hill. The interns worked side-by-side with Public Safety professionals on safety screenings, employee badge processing, dispatch and other security responsibilities.

Eleven participants graduated from this year’s Project SEARCH class. The program, which launched at ChristianaCare in 2011, is offered in partnership with POW&R (Productive Opportunities for Work & Recreation); CIS (Community Integrated Services); Red Clay Consolidated School District; the Delaware Department of Education; and the Delaware Department of Labor’s Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.

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