Project SEARCH a skill-builder for life for graduates

Project SEARCH a skill-builder for life for graduates

Nick Weldon just landed his first job despite lifelong challenges, but people already know his name - just ask his family.

"People know him everywhere, I swear!" said his sister, Bailey. "We were at a gas station in Shreveport, Louisiana during a family trip and my mom and I heard someone yell out, 'Hey, Nick!'"

Charisma and a gift for persuasiveness wasn't what his mother, Christy, thought could result from a childhood spent in special education classes. But thanks to Project SEARCH, his personal goals seem easy now.

"His last year he called me and said, 'Mom, you're not going to believe it - they put me in SPED again," she said. "It's been his goal to be in class with everybody else. He's never seen himself as anything other than like everybody else."

Nick, now 20, is one of seven Rankin County young adults who this month completed the program, which at UMMC is now an eight-year partnership between the Medical Center and community partners for high school students with challenges related to living with intellectual and developmental disabilities once thought to be insurmountable by their families. Partners include the Rankin County School District, Pearl Public School District and the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitative Services.

Tyniya Spencer, a fellow member of the program's successful finishers this spring, benefited from coordinators preparing her for what she's wanted to do all along, said her mother, Belinda Kimbrough.

"Tyniya was diagnosed with an intellectual disability early on, so this moment has been full-circle for me," Kimbrough said. "To see what Project SEARCH has done for her. All Tyniya has wanted to do after high school is to go to work. Now, she's been hired with Aramark. It's just been a blessing for us and our family."

This year's group of seven participants from Rankin County School District and Pearl Public School District were honored May 15 in a ceremony that marked their final year of high school and ended with a certificate to show they completed the nine-month program of classroom instruction and job skills training. Participants may have a baseline certificate of completion from their schools, though many do have either a traditional or alternative diploma upon doing their training with the program.

All seven interned with various departments and contract entities at UMMC to give them hands-on training in areas from manual-intensive positions to in-person customer service. Classroom training they receive involves employability, independent living skills, teamwork, financial literacy, health and wellness, technology, self-advocacy, social interactions with others and how to prepare and maintain employment.

"Every single person here helps our interns learn, grow and succeed," said Christina Guarino, lead instructor for UMMC's program for the Rankin County School District, to an overflow crowd that included school officials and some of the interns' supervisors from UMMC departments. "Everyone matters and we sincerely appreciate you being part of this journey."

Interns showed the kind of versatility in the roles they filled at UMMC the past several months, which will serve them well in full-time employment, Guarino said.

"Each intern has grown in skills, confidence and independence," she said. "They have worked hard, faced some challenges and shown determination every step of the way."

Weldon, who graduated from Northwest Rankin High School, was hired full-time at Club4 Fitness in Flowood after interning at UMMC in volunteer services. He put in a good word for himself on social media, with a post to the gym that touted the gold medal in powerlifting he won at Special Olympics and his being on the team in high school.

Christy Weldon said Project SEARCH helped Nick pair the bravado with the kinds of soft skills everyone needs to hold down a job.

"This has been good for him to learn how to accept different types of feedback to do things even better," she said.

Spencer, also a Northwest Rankin alum, was hired full-time this month with Aramark after interning with the food service provider in doctor dining at UMMC.

"Tyniya is such a determined young kid," her mother said. "If she believes she can do it, she will do it."

Joining Weldon and Spencer as graduates of the program for the 2025-26 school year were Johnny Bailey, of Pearl, hired full-time by Brown Bottling in its warehouse after interning with Crown Laundry at UMMC; Calvin Coleman, of Pearl, hired full-time by food service provider Chartwells in the Pearl Public School District after interning with HHS at UMMC; Hannah Kimbrough, of Brandon, hired full-time in food service at Northwest Rankin High School after interning with UMMC Police Department; Dylan Morgan, of McLaurin High School, an intern during the program in the Medical Center's Resuscitation Training Center; and Dai'Jawn "Bizzy" Smith, hired full-time by ServiceMaster Clean on its projects team after interning with Aramark at UMMC.