Eight students from Lake Travis ISD and Eanes ISD will spend the school year at Lakeway Regional Medical Center receiving job coaching and building vocational skills.

The students—five from LTISD and three from EISD—have joined a national unpaid internship program called Project SEARCH, which is designed for disabled young adults who are at least 18 years old and looking to transition into adult working life.

On Aug. 10, the students had their first orientation for the program’s launch at LRMC, where they were greeted by CEO Philippe Bochaton.

“We’re going to keep [the interns] busy and give them a lot of opportunities to discover the world of health care,” he said. “We’re excited to be a partner and give them their first experience of the real world. A hospital is a perfect setting for this experience.”

Laura Abbott, LTISD’s director of special services, said the students will rotate through three departments at the hospital—culinary arts, environmental services and materials management.

The partnership also includes Easter Seals, which will work with the interns to provide job coaching and support throughout the year, as well as assistance with job placement, and the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, which provides program funding and helps place students in permanent jobs after the internship ends.

LTISD Superintendent Brad Lancaster said he sees LTISD participating in the program for years to come.

“This is an incredible experience [for the students],” he said.