Give it up for this happy and talented group of Project SEARCH students, pictured here celebrating the last day of their internship with Aramark at Girard College. The SEARCH program prepares young adults with disabilities for employment through internships and real-world work experiences.  

These students attend Mastery Charter School, and they gathered last Thursday for a closing ceremony celebrating their hard work this year as part of the Project SEARCH program. Pictures were taken, fun was had, happy tears were shed, and friends and family looked on with pride as students received their Certificates of Completion.   

Making the celebration sweeter was the fact that there was more fun to come: this past week, students engaged in optional community trips to explore free places in the community they could eventually visit on days off from work, like the beautiful Wissahickon Valley Park, Comcast Sphere, and Eastern State Penitentiary. 

Congrats to all the students, and a big thanks to Rachel Gregory, Project SEARCH Skills Trainer here at CIS, for the fantastic pictures: “[The students] have all grown so much this year,” said Rachel. “We’re very proud and excited to see what’s next in their journey!”