Project SEARCH interns hired ahead of graduation ceremony

COEUR d’ALENE — In a packed room at Kootenai Health Resource Center, five interns shared the bonds they forged and the skills they gained through Project SEARCH.

Izzy Stout, Chayana Frahm, Dan Gildea, Piper Benzon and Bryce Ruiz graduated from the program with job offers.

“We’re here, like the series finale of your favorite show,” Ruiz said at the opening of his presentation. 

Through the connections he built during the program, he found a job as a shop assistant at Les Schwab Tires.

With help from co-instructors Theresa Moran and Abbie Waters, the program connects people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to job training. It's a partnership between the Coeur d’Alene School District, Kootenai Health and the Idaho Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.

Stout said she learned how to interview with confidence and how to become a team leader. She begins her position as a tech housekeeper for Kootenai Health next week.

“I am just a big helper. I love being around people, and being able to get a job at Kootenai Health has been amazing to express my skills,” Stout said.

She dedicated her success to the memory of her grandfather, Stephen Hoffman.

“He would be very proud of the accomplishments I’ve made,” Stout said.

Several of the interns became so trusted and knowledgeable that they helped with training incoming interns.

Frahm was the second member of her family to complete the Project SEARCH internship. Social skills, self-advocacy and more independence were among her biggest takeaways.

Beginning her new job at Big Blue Coffee Co., Frahm's next goals are to get a driver's license and work toward living independently in an apartment with roommates. 

Frank Maier, director of special education for the Coeur d’Alene School District, said the interns are walking away with essential skills.

“This is a celebration of not just academic success, but resilience and the promise of potential,” Maier said.

    Dan Gildea tells the packed room at the Kootenai Health Resource Center about the skills he learned at his Project SEARCH internship.
  

    Abbie Waters, Theresa Moran, Piper Benzon and Kim Anderson pose for the camera as Benzon holds up her Project SEARCH certificate.
  

    Izzy Stout presents on the roles she performed during her Project SEARCH internship and how she's excited to make her job permanent working in housekeeping at Kootenai Health.
  

    Bryce Ruiz explains how he got the nickname, "Meatloaf" during his Project SEARCH internship and the job skills he acquired through the program.