- November 1, 2024
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Michael Alexander, Trevor Garner, Ariana Tarallo, David Ellis, Juliana Sclafani and Angelique Bonacci pose before they start their vocational positions at Princeton Village. Photo by Paige Wilson
Juliana Sclafani and David Ellis are the two housekeeping interns through Nov. 9. Photo by Paige Wilson
Kim Halliday, Ariana Tarallo, David Ellis, Carole Hartunian, Michael Alexander, Juliana Sclafani, Judy and Randy Yost (of Princeton Village), Angelique Bonacci, Trevor Garner and Jill Kulwicki. Photo by Paige Wilson
Trevor Garner stacks dishes in his dietary role. Photo by Paige Wilson
Six interns at Princeton Village in Palm Coast are spending the school year washing dishes, setting tables, cleaning rooms and coordinating activities with the assisted living and memory care residents — and they love every minute of it.
The interns are students of the Flagler Schools TRAIL Transition program, which is designed to help youth with disabilities transition into real vocational opportunities. For the first year, the program has partnered with Project SEARCH, a nationwide effort that works to secure competitive employment for people with disabilities, to provide the students with hands-on training in their last year of the TRAIL program.
Michael Alexander, Trevor Garner, Ariana Tarallo, David Ellis, Juliana Sclafani and Angelique Bonacci spend 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday to Friday learning vocational skills at Princeton Village.
Sclafani, one of the two housekeeping interns, said, “I get to clean people’s rooms. I’m responsible; I know I can do a lot of things myself.”
Alexander, Bonacci and Garner all said they’ve learned how to be a leader in their positions.
“You have to be positive [and] be the first person to fix something that’s wrong,” Garner said about his position in dietary services.
Tarallo currently works in the administrative role, where she has learned coding and computer skills that have helped her become independent, she said.
Project SEARCH Skills Trainer Carole Hartunian said each student was placed in a position that best suits their skills. Each job is on a 10-week rotation, so they’ll continue in their current roles through Nov. 9. At that time, they’ll move to a new position where the current intern will teach the new one what’s expected of them.
“We try to match it to their interests and the best skills that they can learn for employment,” Hartunian said. “This is a way for them to figure out what they might like to do.”
She said that after they complete the TRAIL program in May, she’ll continue working with each student 150 days into their real-world employment to ensure they make a smooth transition.
Hartunian said the partnership with Project SEARCH and the TRAIL program has made a perfect alignment of classroom to career opportunities.
After TRAIL Transition Coordinator Kim Halliday listened to her students speak with the Palm Coast Observer about their passions for their positions at Princeton Village, she said, “Every time they talk, my heart gets fuller.”
