Singing River Hospital in Gulfport graduates five Project SEARCH interns

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) - Thursday was graduation day at Singing River Hospital in Gulfport for Project SEARCH interns.

Singing River Hospital Project Search graduate Ryan Perry says, “This is like fun, but this is also hard work for real life.”

For the past nine months, these young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities have been completing the Project SEARCH internship.

Each graduate has done three rotations around different departments of the hospital, gaining both work and life skills.

Graduate Ryan Perry says that he wanted to learn more about the grill when interning in the cafeteria, something that made him nervous but paid off.

Perry says, “To me, it felt a little bit challenging, but it also helped me learn some mistakes that I made, and I learned from it. Right now, I’m doing really better, better than I did last year.”

Ryan has now been working as a grill cook for the hospital for two months, thanks to Project SEARCH.

Alongside Ryan, Hyjara Martin Junior also graduated and has been hired at the hospital.

Her mom, Evelyn Martin, says Hyjara is following in her footsteps.

Martin says, “Over 40 years ago, I started my job in medical records. I’ve worked at the Seabee base here in medical records and office manager at the dental clinic there at the Seabee base. So, I am so proud of her, she loved this job.”

Project Search instructor Amy Gressick says that at the start of the internships, departments can be a little wary of the responsibility that comes with teaching those with disabilities.

But Gressick says, by the end of the first three months, departments were begging for these interns.

Gressick says, “I will receive emails, get stopped in the hallways asking, ‘When can we have an intern?’ Or, “When is it our turn?” Or, “I have a perfect job I know this intern can do.’”

Receiving their graduation certificates marks the beginning of each of these young adults’ workforce careers.

A total of five interns graduated from the program this afternoon.

Click HERE to watch the video.