22-05-2025
Emplify Health by Gundersen provides job opportunities for high school students
LA CROSSE, Wis. (WLAX/WEUX) – Emplify Health by Gundersen is celebrating the graduation of six interns from the Project Search class of 2025. Project Search is a yearlong employment preparation program designed for young people with learning difficulties and disabilities. Project Search instructor, Laura Anderson, explains, 'Its intent is to teach work-based skills to help students prepare for the world of work. Also, to just be ready to get out there and land a job and have all of their skills in place to be a little more prepared than they would've been coming out of high school.'
The program graduate Krystyn Lilla is a patient attendant in Emplify Health's rehab unit. She says being a part of the program helped prepare her for her role, 'I learned all through my different rotations the different job skills and how important those job skills are to work in the hospital. For the memories, making a bunch of new friends, all the great mentors that I had through the rotations, and getting this job.'
Anderson says a big part of the program is job development and teaching students soft skills. 'We practice interviewing. We build resumes. We go out job seeking. We take them on the interviews. We support them in their interviews. We also do onboarding and job coaching once they graduate. We will support them for up to three months to make sure that they have a successful in the job also.'
Many family members and Emplify staff are ready to see these students take their next steps on their life journey. 72 interns have completed the program since it began eight years ago.
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