Long before Jack stood behind the front desk at Phoenixville Hospital, confidently helping visitors find their way, he was a student wondering what life after high school might look like. Like many students approaching graduation, he was exploring his options and searching for a path that matched his strengths and goals. That search led him to KenCrest's Project SEARCH program, a place where he could build confidence, develop real-world skills, and discover what he was capable of achieving. For Jack, Project SEARCH became more than a next step; it became a bridge to greater independence and opportunity.
Jack wasn't alone in standing at that crossroads. Mel said she entered the program because she felt lost during her senior year and wanted a chance to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. For Joe, the journey began with a simple suggestion. A teacher encouraged him to sign up for Project SEARCH, and he decided to give the program a try. That is what draws many young people to Project SEARCH. Designed for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autistic young adults, the program offers not just the hope of a job someday, but the chance to step into a real workplace, try new roles, build confidence, and begin answering one of the biggest questions that comes after high school—what comes next?
Finding Their Footing
For Mel and Joe, the first day of Project SEARCH was not just the start of an internship. It was the beginning of stepping into a place that felt bigger, faster, and more adult than school. There were new expectations, unfamiliar faces, and the quiet pressure of trying to figure out where they belonged. At KenCrest, in partnership with Tower Health Phoenixville Hospital, Project SEARCH is built around that process of discovery. Mornings begin in the classroom, where interns learn workplace expectations, life skills, and the realities of adulthood. Then they head into the hospital, where each rotation offers a new department and another chance to see what fits. With instructors, mentors, and on-site support close by, interns are encouraged to try, reflect, and keep building, gaining not just job skills but confidence in themselves. For some, like Jack, that growth has already opened the door to what comes next.
Early on, Mel was learning to navigate a professional environment while also growing more comfortable in her own skin. “I was lost my senior year,” she said. One of the biggest changes was learning to speak up and feel more at ease around others. “I got to really be less shy, more talkative, able to open up to people more, and just offer help,” she said.
Through front desk work and daily interactions with staff and visitors, she gained experience greeting guests, answering questions, and handling day-to-day conversations in a professional setting. She also learned directly from Jack, a former Project SEARCH intern now working full-time at Phoenixville Hospital, who helped train her at the front desk and showed her what confidence in that role could look like.
Through her rotations at the front desk, in endoscopy, and in the emergency room, Mel gained experience in a variety of workplace settings. The experience helped inform her goal of becoming a leasing agent.
“That’s what I’m hoping to do, and I want to grow to become maybe a real estate agent, starting from the bottom and then making my way up to the top,” she said. What once felt like being lost has become a more defined vision for the future.
Joe’s experience has also been one of learning what fits through real experience. Over the course of the year, he has worked in the emergency room, patient registration, and the mail room. Along the way, he learned something that shaped not only how he works but how he connects with the people around him. Each rotation taught him something important. Some showed him what did not fit, which mattered just as much as finding what did. He realized that the pace and noise of the emergency room were not where he felt most comfortable, while patient registration gave him the kind of interaction he genuinely enjoyed. Through those experiences, Project SEARCH has helped him narrow his interests and grow more confident in the kind of workplace that suits him best.
At KenCrest, interns gain hands-on experience in real workplace settings while developing practical skills and exploring different career paths. Through opportunities like Mel's rotations across hospital departments, Jack's work experience, and Kaitlyn's promotion, Project SEARCH helps participants build experiences that can support their goals after graduation.
Stepping Into What's Next
Jack is already living in the future he once wasn’t sure how to reach. Today, he works full time at Phoenixville Hospital’s front desk, helping visitors find patient rooms, printing badges, and guiding people through moments that can often feel unfamiliar or stressful. It is work that asks for patience, confidence, and the ability to put others at ease. For Jack, that growth did not happen all at once.
“I think communicating with people was a big thing,” he said. “I was very shy at the start of Project SEARCH, but confidence is a big thing now. I’m not second-guessing myself as much as I used to.” In a role where people often arrive feeling uncertain, Jack now gets to be the calm, capable person helping them find their way.
Kaitlyn, another former Project SEARCH intern who went on to work full-time, shows that growth does not stop with getting hired. Today, she works full-time at the Goodwill in Exton as a Customer Service Coordinator, the role she was promoted into after starting out part-time as a cashier. In her job, she helps customers, supports new cashiers, organizes the floor, manages registers, and helps keep the store running smoothly.
Kaitlyn says Project SEARCH helped her build the independence and self-awareness she needed to succeed at work. Through the program, she learned when to ask for help, how to stay on task, and how to better understand both her strengths and the areas where she needed support. It also strengthened her confidence and communication skills, making the transition into a real job feel more manageable.
“Goodwill is a really good place for me to work at,” she said, “because it’s not only helping myself, but also helping other people who have disabilities, like what Project SEARCH does. They both help with job training, advocacy, and breaking down barriers for people with disabilities.” For Kaitlyn, that connection matters. Working at Goodwill gives her a way to support opportunities for other people, just as others once supported her.
Together, their stories show the full arc of what Project SEARCH can make possible. For Mel and Joe, the program is a place to try new things, learn from each rotation, and begin imagining a future that feels real. For Jack and Kaitlyn, it became a bridge into full-time work and greater independence, with the confidence to keep moving forward.
At KenCrest, Project SEARCH is not simply about preparing young adults for employment. It is about helping them discover what they are capable of and giving them the support to build a life around those strengths.
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