Twelve graduates from the Project SEARCH Montgomery & Community-Based Internship Program celebrated the successful completion of a year of workplace learning, career exploration, and skill building as they prepared for competitive employment. Families, community partners, mentors, and staff gathered to honor the Class of 2026 and the achievements that made the milestone possible.
The ceremony included remarks from Montgomery County Government leaders Jennifer Davis and Jenna Shovlin, keynote speaker Rachel Solomon, and Project SEARCH alumna Sophie Goldberg, who now works as an Imaging Specialist at TelaForce.
In her keynote address, Solomon shared the improv principle of “Yes, And,” encouraging graduates to embrace new opportunities while recognizing the power of collaboration. Reflecting on a year that brought unexpected changes, including the closure of the Project SEARCH program at the National Institutes of Health, she highlighted how Ivymount School, SEEC, Montgomery County Government, community job sites, and countless partners came together with a shared commitment to ensure students continued receiving exceptional opportunities to learn, grow, and prepare for employment.
Project SEARCH is a one year employment immersion program that helps young adults with significant disabilities successfully transition from school to adult life. Through classroom instruction, career exploration, and internships in real work environments, participants develop the skills and confidence needed for competitive employment. Ivymount School partners with SEEC and Montgomery County Government to provide meaningful workplace experiences and individualized support throughout the program.
“The foundation of Project SEARCH is having strong partnerships with our host businesses. We work with interns and sites to find the best matches where our interns are able to learn valuable skills while the site is gaining meaningful work,” said Clayton Caden, Ivymount’s Project SEARCH instructor. This year was a powerful reminder of the vitality of these partnerships and the incredible flexibility and generosity they showed students.
Congratulations to the Class of 2026 and thank you to the families, mentors, community job site partners, Montgomery County Government, and SEEC staff who helped make this year’s success possible.
