Three more young adults who spent the last nine months interning at UConn Health are on their way to joining the workforce.
Michaela Donelan, Zyren Collins, and Kyle Gonzalez make up the Favarh’s Project SEARCH Class of 2024 at UConn Health, which held its bridge ceremony celebrating completion of the program May 29.
“I made it to another milestone in my life. It is a great accomplishment to graduate Project SEARCH,” Gonzalez says. “I better understand how to navigate the workforce now. I was able to gain better problem-solving skills. I learned how to advocate more for myself.”
Gonzalez, who lives in Avon, is staying at UConn Health, hired by its food services contractor, Morrison Healthcare, as a patient dining associate, and already has started his new job.
UConn Health was the first employer in Connecticut to partner with Favarh’s Project SEARCH, which is designed to equip young adults with developmental or intellectual disabilities with the skills needed to obtain independent employment. The interns report daily at 8 a.m. for a combination of meetings, lessons, and mostly, hands-on work in designated areas such as food service, linens, housekeeping, clerical, and courier service.
“I feel accomplished for graduating, it is such a bittersweet feeling,” Donelan says. “I developed better critical thinking and decision-making skills, in relation to both work and budgeting. I also gained more confidence in myself. I am now able to ask more questions when I am unsure and not be afraid to ask the questions.”
Donelan, who lives in Farmington, says she’s hoping to return to UConn Health in the near future as a paid employee. Collins, of Waterbury, has similar aspirations.
“I want to work and find a job that I enjoy, hopefully at UConn Health,” Collins says. “I gained a lot of life experience, both working experience and living independently.”
Asked what graduating means to him, he says, “Finishing what I started. I’m very proud that I am graduating from Project SEARCH.”
Nearly 50 interns have completed the program. The Class of 2024 is UConn Health’s ninth cohort.
Favarh is based in Canton and is a chapter of the Arc, a worldwide organization that supports people with disabilities. In partnership with UConn Health Human Resources and the Connecticut Departments of Developmental Services and Rehabilitative Services, Favarh brought Project SEARCH to UConn Health in 2015.
