ACBDD Special Edition: Project SEARCH prepares youth to enter the workplace
Below is an excerpt from the ACBDD’s 2026 Special Edition, which is produced in partnership with Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and The Post. The full edition can be found here.
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By: Ameerah Barker
Jackie Hawk starts her mornings at OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital with a routine she’s worked hard to learn. She arrives between 8 and 8:30 a.m., settles into class and then heads to her internship in the nutrition department.
She didn’t always have this level of confidence walking into a workplace. But that is exactly why she enrolled in Project SEARCH – to grow.
“I want to work at a makeup store someday,” Hawk said. “I’ve always loved makeup.”
Project SEARCH is a transition-to-work program for individuals with disabilities who have completed high school. It operates as a partnership among several organizations: Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) is the funding source, OhioHealth O’Bleness serves as the work site, Tri County Career Center provides the educational component, Capabilities offers job coaching, and the ACBDD’s Office of Integrate Athens offers additional supports that are individual-specific.
Interns like Hawk spend a full academic year rotating through hospital departments while learning communication, employability and independent living skills.
For Hawk, that means learning how to talk with coworkers, respond to supervisors, manage her time, show up prepared and do it all in a real workplace, not a classroom. These experiences make goals like Hawk’s reachable, and it get participants excited about adult life and becoming more independent.
Inside the classroom, Hawk practices skills she now uses every day. One morning, her class focused on professional email writing.
“People who aren’t used to email will sometimes write like they’re texting,” said Lisa Roback, Project SEARCH instructor. “We teach how to use proper punctuation, capitalization and how to communicate professionally.”
Those small details have helped Hawk build her confidence communicating at work. She also practices self-talk strategies — a skill Roback said makes a major difference when the job gets challenging.
“You have to work through discomfort,” Roback said. “We teach them how to say, ‘I can do this’ or ‘I’m almost done.’”
Hawk has taken those lessons straight into her internship. In the nutrition department, she stocks items, prepares supplies and wipes down surfaces. She said she feels more confident doing tasks she didn’t know how to do at first.
“They show me how to do something, and then I get used to it,” Hawk said. “I’m getting better at it.”
Heather Clemons, a Community Inclusion Specialist with the ACBDD who offers support to the interns, has watched Hawk grow throughout the semester.
“What I love is seeing the relationships she’s building,” Clemons said. “When Jackie walks down the hallway, people say ‘Hi Jackie.’ They know her. She is succeeding here.”
Clemons said Jackie is naturally social, which makes her a strong fit in environments where she interacts with people. That aligns with her long-term goal of working in beauty or retail.
“She really wants that independence,” Clemons said. “She shows up, she puts the work in, and she’s growing in all the right ways.”
Those changes are measured regularly. Project SEARCH uses department evaluations and a detailed assessment called VocFit to track how interns handle tasks such as communication, staying on schedule, following instructions, and learning new responsibilities.
“The growth we see in just the first internship is huge,” Roback said. “Jackie is much more confident than when she started.”
Hawk is also working on life skills beyond her internship. Transportation training is one of them. Some interns learn to use the bus system if they’re not ready for driving. Others work toward their driver’s license with support from the program. Hawk said she feels supported every step of the way.
“They help us with everything,” she said. “I’m learning how to talk to people and how to work. I’m proud of myself.”
Roback said that mindset is exactly the point of the program.
“My favorite part is witnessing growth,” she said. “Seeing interns take on something that was once uncomfortable and make it natural. It’s the coolest thing to watch.”
When she talks about the future, Hawk always comes back to one goal: a job in the beauty world. She said she wants a workplace where she can talk with people, help customers and be surrounded by something she enjoys. Clemons believes she can get there.
“Every one of our interns has something to offer,” Clemons said. “Jackie absolutely has something to offer. She’s kind, she’s hardworking and she wants to succeed.”
Roback agrees.
“Individuals with disabilities have just as much to teach us as we have to teach them,” she said. “Jackie is a great example of that.”
For now, Hawk is focused on finishing her first internship, continuing to build her skills and preparing for the next rotation. She knows each day brings her closer to the kind of independence she wants.
“I just want to work and be more independent,” Hawk said.