Sewar Hadid of Whitehall was among the students to graduate recently from the Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Center Project SEARCH program.

Project SEARCH helps students with various disabilities learn soft skills and self-advocacy skills needed for today's competitive job marketplace. The nine-month program places the students in various jobs at Good Shepherd and provides the participants with real world experiences and the skills they need to become valued employees for local businesses and organizations.

This past fall, a Project SEARCH program was also initiated in by Lehigh County. These interns worked at the Lehigh County government building, Lehigh Valley Zoo and Cedarbrook Nursing Home.

In addition to Hadid, this year's graduates include Rebekah Adelman of Emmaus, Christopher Beamer of Center Valley, Nick Lacko of Allentown, Jennifer Larimer of Macungie, Christopher Nickerson of Emmaus, Alexa Reiner of Center Valley, Luisa Torres of Catasauqua, Briana Hall of Allentown, Sara McCarry of Orefield, Andre Walck of Emmaus and Dylan Zandarski of Allentown.

Four of this year's Good Shepherd graduates have already secured employment. Among them is Luisa Torres of Catasauqua.

"Luisa grew up in a small town, which was the only world she knew. She was a timid and shy young lady," said Danielle Roland, Project SEARCH coordinator. "By learning how to self-advocate and manage her own needs, including accessing public transportation, she has embraced her community, traveling independently to and from work and to appointments. She loves the new life she has created for herself."

Working with mentors on the Good Shepherd staff, she also learned to meet employer standards. She has done that with great success and has been hired by Goodwill Keystone Area to work at Kraft Foods as a housekeeper.

"The Project SEARCH team is very proud of her and all of our interns on the growth they have achieved throughout the year," said Roland.

Two of this year's Good Shepherd Project SEARCH graduates are working at Cedarbrook Nursing Home in Bethlehem as hospitality aides and another one is working for Goodwill Keystone Area at Kraft Foods.