Anthony Watts said he’ll most likely have to get a job soon because he’s “too young to retire.” Fortunately, Project SEARCH helped him prepare.
Watts was one of six student interns who graduated from Project SEARCH on Thursday morning and will soon enter the workforce.
Family, friends, district administrators, school board members, mentors and program partners gathered at the Community Connections at Pinckney building for the ceremony.
“Change could be hard, but it’s time to start a new life,” Watts said in his speech. “But at least I’ll still enjoy video games, movies, TV shows and more, and hanging out with friends.”
Interns get job experience working with mentors in several areas at Lawrence Memorial Hospital — such as materials management, education, facilities and physical therapy — and the University of Kansas, including dining services, recycling, preventative maintenance, Monarch Watch and more.
They receive employability skills training aimed at connecting them with local businesses and supporting their transitions into adulthood.
Graduates part of the Class of 2025 include Watts, Sarah Burrichter, Jackson Caldwell, Sal Flower, Karias Hall and Trevor Norris. Burrichter thanked her family during a speech Thursday and said she was excited about her and her friends’ accomplishments.
A video shown at the ceremony reviewed fond memories from the year. Outside of class and site-based work, interns enjoyed ice cream at Sylas and Maddy’s and hung out at Java Break, among other trips.
Jenna Viscomi, administrator at Community Connections at Pinckney, commended graduates for stepping outside of their comfort zones to gain new experiences.
“You have navigated a world that wasn’t always designed with you in mind, advocating for yourselves, innovating solutions and demonstrating a strength that often goes unseen today,” Viscomi said. “We celebrate not just your accomplishments, but the extraordinary courage and bravery it took to get here.”
As tradition, Project SEARCH graduates gifted name tag lanyards to the 13 incoming student interns who will begin in the fall. Those in attendance Thursday celebrated with cake and refreshments following the ceremony.
If our local journalism matters to you, please help us keep doing this work.
Don’t miss a beat … Click here to sign up for our email newsletters
Click here to learn more about our newsletters first
Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
Latest Lawrence news:
Maya Hodison/Lawrence Times
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
