WENATCHEE, WA - Stemilt is continuing to foster both its own community and the future workforce as it sees off its second graduates of its Project SEARCH Program.

“May their journey be filled with love, happiness, and fulfillment,” Zach Williams, Stemilt’s Director of People Experience, said. “Whether they find their new jobs here at Stemilt, or in the community, we wish them the very best! Not only do they learn something new during their time here, so do we. We will remember them as Stemilters for their integrity and bringing their best to the table.”

The company’s project helps young people with disabilities secure competitive employment, preparing them for opportunities with Stemilt or in the community. After completing the Stemilt Project SEARCH program, four interns are looking to find employment in the greater Wenatchee valley, according to a press release.

“As we close the chapter on a second year of Project SEARCH at Stemilt, I can say the presence of this year’s interns will be missed,” Williams concluded. “They bring joy to our work lives, and I know our supervisors who guided them through their internships are so proud of how far they’ve come since day one!”

Attending the graduation were representatives from the Chelan-Douglas Development Disabilities Program (CDDD), the Development Disabilities Administration (DDA), the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR), Link Transit, Stemilt, Confluence Health, and the Eastmont School District, who were thanked for their support and involvement. The year-long course provided interns three three-month-long internships in departments at Stemilt including:

• Production
• IT
• Human resources
• Repack
• The retail store

“This crew had an outstanding performance and even when their tasks weren’t always fun, they showed up every day,” said Project SEARCH instructor Terry Brown. “We maybe had 10 absences total all year which really shows the effort and energy they put forth into the program. Each year, we select one intern to be ‘intern of the year’ and boy did they make it hard for us to choose!”

This year’s intern of the year was received by Ayden Snyder, who interned at Stemilt’s Euclid packing facility doing box mezzanine and working on the packing line. Additionally, two interns—Hadley Haggard and Cristian Judd—worked at other community organizations. Haggard set the record for participating in the most internships, with hopes to be a para educator someday.

To each intern, for their hard work and completing the program, Stemilt presented a backpack, water bottle, pin, and hat along with their certificates. To read more about the project and the graduation, see the full release here.

Congratulations to all these incoming professionals and to the Stemilt team!