When Sam Thompson, 20, started Project SEARCH last September, the shy intern had trouble expressing himself and was prone to mumbling. Now, nine months later, Thompson, who has autism, was brave enough to speak at his own graduation ceremony on May 28 in Ferguson Auditorium. Standing in cap and gown before an audience of about fifty, Thompson shared how much he enjoyed getting to know his fellow interns and working with customers at Biltmore Estate’s winery. Though his voice was at times shaky, Thompson spoke audibly, in a confident tone earned, no doubt, from receiving months of coaching and on-the-job experience. He is one of seven young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who graduated from Biltmore Estate Project SEARCH’s program this year. The program consists of three internships at Biltmore Estate, classroom instruction through A-B Tech’s Transitional Studies, and job coaching through the Arc of North Carolina.
For the last seven years, the Asheville Project SEARCH’s internship program was based at Mission Hospital and on A-B Tech’s campus. For the first time this year the project worked with Biltmore Estate and the interns spent 540 hours total working across twelve departments at Biltmore including the Biltmore’s Antler Hill Village Hotel and the estate’s winery. Interns worked four days a week for a total of twenty hours and received coaching and classroom teaching on skills including team building, self-advocacy and financial literacy.
Kristen Fields, an employment specialist for the Arc of North Carolina, has worked with Thompson since he started the program last fall when he first expressed interest in working at a brewery. She helped place him in the estate’s winery, the closest match, and he liked it so much that he chose to stay through all three internships.
Thompson’s favorite part of the job? Talking with the tourists in the retail shop and sharing interesting facts about wine, which his mom Jennifer says he picked up on his own by reading wine books.
Thompson said that over the past months, she’s seen her son change from a kid who struggled to get out of bed each morning, to a self-sufficient adult excited about going to work each day. “He gets himself up in the morning now,” she said. “I don’t have to do it anymore.”
During his third month at the winery, Thompson earned a medal from Biltmore Estate for Associate of the Month for his excellent skills and customer service. Just this week he was offered a paid position and will go on to work in the winery’s retail shop.
The perks of the program extend far beyond the classroom. When asked what the best part of the program was, Thompson listed communication skills and working as part of a team.
Recently, his dad Blake Thompson said he was surprised at a Biltmore event when his son called him over to meet someone. Expecting to find a teacher or counselor, he found instead a table full of coworkers, all smiling and waving.
“They were shouting, “Hey, Sam! Hey Sam!” he said. “It was great.”
Biltmore Estate, The Arc of NC, and A-B Tech are actively recruiting and accepting applications for the ’24-25 program to begin in September. To be eligible, young people must have the desire to achieve competitive employment, be eligible for NC vocational rehabilitation services, and have reliable daily transportation. More information and the application can be found at -https://www.arcnc.org/programs-and-services/west/project-search.
Photos:
The above photo is of Sam Thompson with his mother Jennifer Thompson. Sam is wearing his Biltmore medal.
The interns who graduated in Project SEARCH’s eighth cohort in 2023-2024- pictured in the group photo- are:
- Dekorian Byrd
- Simon Fertel
- Logan Heim
- Kyra Henderson
- Hudson O’Connell
- Miles Malles
- Sam Thompson
