Lessons from the workplace by Project SEARCH interns

3.1.1 Program success

There are several things that contribute to the success of our Project SEARCH program; however, two of the greatest factors are the development of the interns’ independence and the length of time in which they are engaged on the job. When students enter Project SEARCH, the interns are expected to develop their independence, which can sometimes be a challenge as many have been dependent upon supports throughout high school. However, the environment of Project SEARCH (being off-campus and on the work site) and the expectation that they speak for themselves helps them to develop the independence needed on the job. Throughout each internship experience, the goal is for the intern to continue to add skills through the 10-week period so that they may learn all the skills needed for that position. The instructor and the job coaches have the ability to provide and fade individualized supports, develop the strengths of the intern, and ensure meaningful and intensive job experiences. The interns are required, with supports, to develop a task analysis of the skills for the job. Through engaging in this process, the students’ develop a greater understanding of the primary tasks of the job, taking ownership of their new responsibilities.

Another factor that contributes to program success is the length of time for which the interns are engaged on the job site. With the extended job site learning experiences, employers truly get to know the student and are able to provide real feedback on their skill set. Being on the job site for 10 weeks at 20 hours a week, the intern is a part of the work culture and the internship supervisors are invested in the long-term goals of the intern and in their skills development and outcomes, which is not something you get through short-term work experiences. As a result, the interns get greater opportunities to learn skills and demonstrate success which results in references from an employer who can speak for their work.

3.1.2 Intern development

Throughout the year, the interns’ independence and skills develop substantially, resulting in a more confident, independent, and responsible employee. When the interns begin the program, many have low-self-confidence, low tolerance for frustration (quick to give up), and lack self-efficacy (always are looking to the job coaches for the “right” answer).

The interns have the opportunity throughout the year to learn new tasks in different environments. This results in the development of a great skillset that often exceeds the ability of the interns to describe the work. One thing we do daily to develop their skills and abilities is to talk about the work that they are doing. In the beginning, we wait and have a lot of silence when we ask the interns about their work. So often, they have the skills to complete a complex task but lack the language to describe what it is that they have done. We work to develop their two-word description into a more detailed response that more adequately describes the complexity of their work. This takes time, but we grow this skill so that they are better able to speak confidently about their abilities and relay those skills in interviews with prospective employers. By the end of the year, the interns have developed a belief in their own abilities, the capability to problem-solve, an increased tolerance for frustration, the ability to handle mistakes and ask for help in learning how to correct it, the communication skills to answer and ask more questions, and the realization that it is OK to not know the answer.

3.2.2 Supervisor experience

As an internship supervisor for two Project SEARCH interns, I found the experience to be rewarding as well as to enhance the quality of work I was doing. My research was on a training and technical assistance program designed to support families of transition age young adults with disabilities in the transition to employment. As such, having interns whom they themselves were undergoing that process of transition made sense and contributed to the quality of the work. Throughout the internships, the Project SEARCH staff provided job coaching as well as other supports (e.g., communication, social, emotional) for both interns to help them to widely develop their skills as employees. In addition, I felt supported because the job coaches would check in with me to make sure that they understood my expectations for the intern and to inquire about new or different tasks that needed to be taught, always seeking to expand the skillset of the intern. Due to these positive experiences, I hired Ryan Henley as a research aide, and he has been an exceptional employee whose skills have grown and expanded in every realm. However, I would not have hired him without the extended 10-week internship opportunity because, without it, he would not have been able to demonstrate or describe the complex skillset needed for the job. Project SEARCH provided him with the on-the-job training, support, and experience he needed to demonstrate his abilities.

3.3.1 Ryan Henley

At the end of Project SEARCH, I was offered a part time job in the community working at Sprouts, a grocery store, and another part-time job at the Beach Center on Disability at KU working with a former internship supervisor. This is a good step toward my long-term employment goal. At Sprouts I help customers, bag groceries, get carts, and sweep the floors. At the Beach Center on Disability, I work as a research aide doing data entry for survey research, preparing research materials, conducting website reviews, collecting mail, and other office tasks as they are needed.

3.3.1.1 My internship experiences. Through my three internships in the Project SEARCH program at the University of Kansas, I learned about what it is like to be in the workforce. During my first rotation I had two internships during the day: The Price Computing Center and Project Success at the Beach Center on Disability. At the Computing Center, I learned how to degauss computer hardware, clip cable cords for recycling, and do inventory work. At Project Success I learned how to transcribe interviews, process data entry, and put folders together for their training activities. Before my second rotation was officially decided, I returned to the Beach Center to mentor another intern. What I learned was to be myself, helpful, and kind to the mentee. My second rotation took place at the Watson Library, where I was a part of the Campus Mail department. When I was at Campus Mail, I learned how to organize mail, get around campus to drop off the mail, and how to keep the stacks in the library organized by straightening the chairs as well as picking up any stray books for re-shelving. Once the third rotation started, I returned to Campus Mail, but just for the afternoon hours. In the morning hours, I worked with the Achievement and Assessment Institute. There I learned how to do graphic design, use Photoshop, and animate using Adobe. I also had an opportunity to do a short rotation in the community, off campus, at a business called Sunlite Technologies. I had two workplace experiences there: in the warehouse and at a desk on a computer. In the warehouse, I learned how to assemble two types of flashlights: penlights and turbo lights. On the computer, I learned how to edit spec sheets using Adobe InDesign and edit photos using Publisher and Adobe Photoshop. I feel like my internships helped me gain a lot of work experience and be more prepared for upcoming employment in the future.

3.3.1.2 Workplace supports that worked for me. I have had supports that have worked for me at a couple of my workplaces. When I was at Campus Mail, I would be confused about how to get around the campus and the buildings to drop off the mail during the first week. So to try to make the job easier, I would sit down and discuss the mail route with a job coach in what was called a task analysis. Basically what we did was break down each task into steps and write down each step about how to get around each building on campus and where to drop off the mail in that specific building. It helped me to write down the steps and explain it to the job coach, and eventually I would catch on to it. Then when I was at Sunlite Technologies, sometimes I would feel stressed out when I was using the computer because the work on there would be sometimes really challenging and would take a lot of thinking. My job coaches told me to try to lean back in the chair so that my neck would not start hurting, and they also would tell me to get off the computer for a short break to get some fresh air from outside and then work for about 20 more minutes and then do the same exercise. Those were the supports that helped and worked for me at those workplaces. It also made it easier when my employers showed me around and helped me feel more comfortable when I first started the job. At the Beach Center on Disability, my supervisors also helped me learn how to enter data and do transcriptions. First, they showed me around on the computer, and then they let me do it once with them there so I could ask questions, which helped me to understand each task better.

3.3.1.3 What I learned about myself. What I learned about myself was how to be more flexible on the job and make sure I am at work on time and ready for it. I also learned that I like to learn and try new things on the job.

3.3.1.4 My future employment goal(s). My future employment goal will be to find a full time job. I am now taking classes in the evening at Johnson County Community College so that I can continue with my education and earn a degree. Those are my future goals as of right now.

3.3.1.5 Advice for employers, teachers, parents/families, and other young adults. Here’s my advice for employers, teachers, parents/families, and other young adults seeking employment. For employers, it is good to show employees how to do a task as well as telling them. I learned better when I could hear how to do it and see how to do it and had a chance to practice the task and ask questions. For teachers, I would say encourage any student who has a disability to try to apply to Project SEARCH because it is a neat program and it really helps with employment skills. I would also tell teachers to provide students with support as they try new things. For the parents and families, I would say make sure your child is getting the education skills that they need once they get done with high school so that they can seek employment even if they do decide to head off to college. For the other young adults seeking employment, be sure you are being yourself if you are going into an interview and be honest and make sure you are showing up to work on time and being ready for it. That is my advice for all of you guys.

3.3.2 Dempsy Kellner

After Project SEARCH I have worked as a custodian, where I cleaned cafeterias, restrooms, classrooms and hallways. I also worked in a store where I was a cart pusher where I also did restocking when the customer didn’t want something and cleaning duties like mopping spills on the floors. Now I work in a general cleaning position at the Oread Hotel in Lawrence. I pick up trash, tear down boxes, clean bars, clean coffee/tea stations, help clean the banquet room and organize the soda room. I also do the organizing in the bridal room. I vacuum, sweep (with a broom and dust pan), and mop, and I also sometimes take dishes to the dishwasher, which is always helpful. I have also done inventory of how many glasses we had for the restaurant and mugs for the coffee. My other main task is to clean the elevator and elevator grades. I also move furniture back after events.

3.3.2.1 My internship experiences. My first internship was with the Special Services Crew at KU. There I delivered tables and chairs, set up for events, moved pieces around campus, and conducted fire extinguisher checks. I got to know a lot of the crew and liked working with all of them. They all gave me good ideas and we had a fun time together. I learned to work hard to impress all of them. For my second internship, I transferred to recycling. I liked the crew in recycling, but not the tasks that were given. I was assigned to sort all papers, boxes, cans, bottles and trash. Then it repeats itself into a circle. I realized that I liked moving and lifting more than sorting and standing in one spot for a long period of time. My third internship was in the community where I worked in a family business called DK’s Statuary. There I lifted heavy concrete, mixed the concrete and made statues. After the statues sit and dry then you do the painting. I never did the painting by myself, but I helped a little. I did a good job at helping customers with questions, lifting and other stuff when needed.

3.3.2.2 Workplace supports that worked for me. My boss from the hotel gives me a list. Now I can memorize them sometimes, but she will still make a list. On my first half of the year, I needed a list to be able to remember things, then I memorized a lot of them, but I still need lists for new things or old tasks that I haven’t done in a while. I also like when people say, “Dempsy, you did a good job. Keep it up.” I also lend a helping hand to others like they do for me. When I run out of things to do, I need to know what else I can do to increase our status of our hotel, making it look more superb than it did before. I like that my co-workers give me other things that could be done in my spare time. I like to be busy so I need a job that gives me plenty to do like my job now. I am given one list with about ten tasks and all of that will be done in two hours, so I go to the other managers at the hotel and they will give me quite a bit more. If they don’t, then they say, “Sorry, Dempsy, but I don’t have anything else, but thanks for asking,” and so then I go to someone else. Sometimes I already organized or cleaned up extra things that they wanted me to do before they say it. I come back the next day and repeat the process again.

3.3.2.3 What I learned about myself. In Project SEARCH I was a quiet person, but then I learned I could be a helpful person too. I liked being able to open my mind up to helping someone, and I like lending my hand out to offer support. I used to have anger, like small anger problems. I said things that didn’t need to be said. I learned that if you get angry, what is the logic behind it. There is no reward in letting your anger get the best of you. You feel a lot better when you put your best side forward. When I had support from the Interpersonal Skills class in high school, Project SEARCH, and JobLink (my job coach), I could actually be a more useful entity. I could use my abilities to problem solve, organize, help people lift or anything else like how people helped me; I could help others in the same ways and different ways. I try to repay them back with my work abilities. They helped me with my problems, and I paid them back with my helpfulness to others. Helping people and giving to others is really important to me now. I help my friends, co-workers and everyone because I look at it in a different way. I have never once hated my job. I want to work. I learned that I really like to work. I might not feel like it first thing in the morning, but I can tell myself, “Get out of bed, because you will like work when you get there.” I also learned that I like to help out more at home. This is a big one because my sister, who passed away, was a mentor to me and she did a lot to help the family. Now I help my family more, and I succeed in my family too. I have learned the lesson to listen to your boss, your co-workers, and be useful - be all you can be. I learned to choose the right path. I decided I am going to show that I can do it – I can do things the right way, the proper way. I now even get compliments from my cousins saying, “I expected a little from you, but you made it and you are doing good things.”

3.3.2.4 My future employment goal(s). My future goal is to stay where I am at until that year comes of retirement, then maybe I will get a business of my own. There is a lot I wish to do, but I can take the time and do a lot of it. I might want to open a paintball zone or another kind of place where friends and family can have fun.

3.3.2.5 Advice for employers, teachers, parents/ families, and other young adults. Employers – If you look at someone’s record, and you can’t see the big achievements, you might be missing something. Don’t think someone can’t do it. People can be taught. Maybe he’s not a fast learner, he’s a slow learner, but when you show him and help him he will get it down. If you give him ways to remember like a list or a recording, he will learn and that can make a difference in his ability to work with confidence, and then you have a good employee. You then have an employee who you can trust to live up to your expectations.

Teachers/Paras/Job Coaches – When teachers and paras and job coaches give me a chance to get involved with something I have more of an interest in, then that has more meaning to me. It opened my mind, and I became more of a leader in progress. When they trusted me as a leader, I stepped up and brought my leadership into a work environment. In some cases, I may not seem like a leader, but there is a leader in all of us. You just have to open it.

Parents/Families – Be a mentor, ask them questions, ask if they need your advice, ask if there is something bothering them, or if you can help them with something. Having a mentor is like a master and an apprentice. You learn from your mentor what he or she expects out of you, and you might go through hardships. But they give you good advice like: “Think of life like a road. There are multiple roads. Choose one and go down it.”

Young adults – Think about what you could do if you put your mind to it. There are many people out there with disabilities, and you can try to make a difference in your life in some way. Don’t let your disability keep you from work. I have a friend who can’t speak, but he can work. Don’t let anything get in your way.

3.3.3 Taylor Posey

I had two rotations at an internship in Landscape at KU and received a job offer, which I gladly accepted. Project SEARCH had found a job that satisfied my wants in more ways than one.

3.3.3.1 My internship experiences. My work experiences before I started at Project SEARCH gave me the knowledge that I wanted a job that had physical requirements. Project SEARCH listened to my wishes, and gave me two job sites at the KU that satisfied my thirst of working hands on. My first job site was at the Universities Facility Services in Zone 3. It was a job that slowly progressed from me listening to my mentors on how to do the job, to me doing the job myself. The team was amazing, always willing to teach me a new technique. I learned how to work on belts for machines and change air filters in many air conditioning units. I was also taught how to check on compressors. For me these job experiences were fun but hard to learn. Most of the jobs at this site required training and teachings I had not taken nor had the time to take, so this hindered my ability to truly work at this site as a full member of the team. In the end, because of my inability to show up to work on time, I was not allowed to stay at the site for the second rotation, and I was forced to search for a second site.

Luckily for me, the second site was a much more prosperous experience. Project SEARCH found me a position in the landscape department at KU. This job was much simpler for me than the last site. This job did not require any schooling or much training. But thanks to my experience in Zone Three, I learned from my past mistakes. I worked harder at showing up to work on time and used techniques the crew from Zone Three had taught me. I also learned better ways of communicating, and it became easy for me to understand what was asked of me. Also I had an advantage of having a job coach who was more open this rotation than last rotation because of all the different students we had. I had a mentor that kept his eye on me, always giving me advice and clarifying anything I didn’t understand. My crew was also very helpful. They understood I had a disability and were willing to work with me, just like the guys at Zone Three. But what was different was that this experience wasn’t just new for me, it was also new to the landscape department, as I was their first intern from Project SEARCH.

3.3.3.2 Workplace supports that worked for me. At KU Landscape I had so many friendly supervisors and coworkers that were willing to help me succeed. I also had a job coach who was there for every step of the way.

My supervisor was one of the many helpful things I needed at the site. He knew I had a disability and was willing to work with it. There were many times my disability affected my work abilities and ability to communicate with the crew. Once I explained the issue to my supervisor, he would take note of it and help me work with it, one task at a time. He also helped me fight my fear of driving. Whenever possible, he makes me drive, an action that has helped build my confidence, not just in driving but also on everything else. My supervisor also from the very start helped me work my way up to an effective employee – such as starting small with raking tasks then on to using power tools, and working in small areas first then on to huge routes. He also gave me helpful advice and hints at what impressed him the most. Another thing he did for me was pressuring me to work harder while at the same time reminding me over and over again not to stress out and to keep my cool. If I get sick and don’t have much sick time, he urges me to hold on. If I am late to work, he pulls me over and offers advice or ideas on how to get me to work on time. If I seem confused about something, he reminds me until I figure it out.

Another source of support I had was from all my coworkers. They always gave me advice on how to remember buildings or how to do a job more effectively. Whenever I messed up, they made it a joke and made it not seem so bad. They would tease me, and each other, to keep the job fun and not so stressful. I could always ask one of them for help. They made the group seem like a small family, always making me excited to come to work.

My job coaches also helped me greatly in my success at Project SEARCH. They always gave me advice on how to do any job, always suggesting ideas on how to deal with pressure. They helped by keeping an eye on my character, keeping me professional during the crew’s times of joking, and letting me know when I joked around too much. If there was a task I was confused about, they would do the task themselves to give me a visual example.

3.3.3.3 What I learned about myself. One thing that I learned about myself was that I tend to over think many situations, making them seem much worse in my head than what they were in reality. There isn’t much that I can do about this problem I have, except listen to others when they tell me not to worry about the situation. I also learned that I truly hate leaving my coworkers to work without me. Whenever I see a coworker doing any type of work with no one assisting him, I like to go over and help him. I also learned that I lack any real confidence in myself when it comes to doing work as an individual. I rely on others telling me I am doing a good job rather than my own judgment. Because of this I tend to overdue some work on certain projects, for example I will keep on raking up leaves in a certain area until I start seeing coworkers leaving for another area. But thanks to Project SEARCH I was given opportunities and advice on how to approach these problems. So now that I have succeeded and have graduated from the program, I can approach problems myself and work on improving my own skills thanks to the advice and lessons taught to me during my time in Project SEARCH.

3.3.3.4 My future employment goal(s). For now, I mainly want to focus on my ability to improve myself on the job, because I learned the hard way that there is always room for improvement. I want to be able to do any job with confidence by myself, without the fear of messing up. Thanks to this goal and Project SEARCH’s support I can also focus on being able to improve on my weaknesses at my own home. Another goal I have is to someday become an effective writer of stories. I want to make characters and different worlds that seem so real thanks to my experiences at my own jobs and throughout my life. This goal is my life dream and thanks to Project SEARCH and my coworkers, it’s a dream I feel confident in fulfilling.

A job goal I have is to work on my “tool belt,” a term that a Project SEARCH job coach had introduced to me. A “tool belt” is the invisible belt I wear that holds onto all the experiences I learn throughout my life, at work and at home. My goal is to expand my “tool belt” and wear as many tools as I can. I want to learn as much as I can at my current job, then move to somewhere else and learn all I can from there. I want to use these tools to help improve any work site I am at and help improve my community. With this “tool belt” I can improve my character, my home, my community, and hopefully my ability to make my different worlds through my books.

3.3.3.5 Advice for employers, teachers, parents/families, and other young adults. Employers – For me the most effective thing my supervisor did was to realize I had a disability but still expect me to work just as effective as everyone else. He always wanted me to “work on my weaknesses,” giving me encouragement whenever he could, always telling me the importance of improving. Whenever we had a situation, he would give us both time to calm down and then come back and give me some advice on how he would do things. For me this was effective because I wanted so bad to be good at my job.

Teachers – Every student has their own problems, students with disabilities are not alone in this. So don’t coddle them into thinking about the fact that they have a disability, but instead give them a challenge to beat. Anyone who lets their weakness control them, disability or not, will never improve into a better person for themselves and for the world. Give them the support they need, help them discover the weaknesses to their weakness, help them fight it. Find out what their disability does to them and teach them. The worst thing to do is let them think because they have a weakness, that they are weak, because anyone can be strong, only if they try.

Parents/Families – My family very much spoiled me. I didn’t do as much chores around the house as I wish I did. So from my perspective, though I love my parents, and they supported me a lot, the worst thing a parent can do is to go too easy on their kid. Disability or not, give some responsibility to them; it doesn’t have to be a lot. Just one task like feeding the pets, doing the laundry, cleaning dishes, these task will help your child improve his work ethic. Be diverse with the task – like one day feed the pets, next day do laundry. Now, a home should be the easier place for your child. School is where the child should be learning how to fight their disability, home is where they should be able to relax, but to relax too much can defeat the whole purpose of teaching them. That is why at least one task a day can improve their character, and being diverse with the task could help with their ability to adapt, which is an important ability.

Students/Young Adults – My main advice for young adults is to always know you need to improve. No matter what job you’re doing, what task, there is always something someone can do better on, there is always a better technique. Observe your coworkers, ask them why they do the tasks the way they do it. I must admit I was bad at this myself, but it is important to learn from everyone. Even if you’re at the same job for a long time, the new guys can come up with some good ideas. There is always something to learn. Be patient, don’t beat yourself or others up about a bad job, there is always another chance to learn from that mistake you made. Don’t forget the lessons you have learned.