Ascension NE Wisconsin - St. Elizabeth Campus - Appleton, 2025 Community Benefits
Project SEARCH Interns Build Skills and Confidence at Ascension St. Elizabeth
Each year, several young adults graduate from the Project SEARCH program at Ascension NE Wisconsin - St. Elizabeth Hospital.
Project SEARCH empowers students with intellectual and developmental disabilities to achieve competitive employment and helps them transition from school to the workforce through structured, real-world experiences. An instructor and job coach work with the interns and participating businesses to provide on-the-job training. The program’s goal is to eliminate barriers to employment.
“As one of the first Project SEARCH sites in Wisconsin, Ascension St. Elizabeth has been a host site for the past 12 years,” said Renee Trzebiatowski, Ascension St. Elizabeth Manager of Volunteer Services and Project SEARCH Business Liaison. “We offer a structured workplace in a compassionate environment as they work to develop valuable skills, helping them gain employment upon graduation. The interns are so deserving of employment and a happy, fulfilling life in our community. We are grateful to be a part of making this happen.”
At Ascension St. Elizabeth, interns receive classroom instruction on employability and life skills as they work together to learn how to perform internship tasks independently.
“I learned a lot about teamwork and how to communicate with other people,” Project SEARCH intern Cherish Moua said. “It’s helped me understand how I can assist people staying in the hospital.”
Ascension St. Elizabeth has welcomed and trained 92 interns since 2013. Rotations last approximately 10 weeks at 16 hours per week, and expose students to a variety of roles across several departments including maintenance, patient transport, dietary, nursing, food service, and environmental services, with many interns going on to be hired in these areas after graduation.
Project SEARCH is a collaboration between community businesses and agencies including the Appleton Area School District (Appleton East, North and West High Schools), Valley Packaging Industries, TMG Wisconsin, Community Care, Lakeland Care and the Department of Workforce Development.
Project SEARCH empowers students with intellectual and developmental disabilities to achieve competitive employment and helps them transition from school to the workforce through structured, real-world experiences. An instructor and job coach work with the interns and participating businesses to provide on-the-job training. The program’s goal is to eliminate barriers to employment.
“As one of the first Project SEARCH sites in Wisconsin, Ascension St. Elizabeth has been a host site for the past 12 years,” said Renee Trzebiatowski, Ascension St. Elizabeth Manager of Volunteer Services and Project SEARCH Business Liaison. “We offer a structured workplace in a compassionate environment as they work to develop valuable skills, helping them gain employment upon graduation. The interns are so deserving of employment and a happy, fulfilling life in our community. We are grateful to be a part of making this happen.”
At Ascension St. Elizabeth, interns receive classroom instruction on employability and life skills as they work together to learn how to perform internship tasks independently.
“I learned a lot about teamwork and how to communicate with other people,” Project SEARCH intern Cherish Moua said. “It’s helped me understand how I can assist people staying in the hospital.”
Ascension St. Elizabeth has welcomed and trained 92 interns since 2013. Rotations last approximately 10 weeks at 16 hours per week, and expose students to a variety of roles across several departments including maintenance, patient transport, dietary, nursing, food service, and environmental services, with many interns going on to be hired in these areas after graduation.
Project SEARCH is a collaboration between community businesses and agencies including the Appleton Area School District (Appleton East, North and West High Schools), Valley Packaging Industries, TMG Wisconsin, Community Care, Lakeland Care and the Department of Workforce Development.
