March is Developmental Disability Awareness Month, and UPMC Hamot is celebrating by recognizing some of their employees.

UPMC Hamot works with the Millcreek School District on Project Search, a unique one-year school-to-work program, which takes place entirely at the workplace.

It's designed to empower young adults with physical or intellectual disabilities to develop skills to become competitively employed.

One of those students who completed the program, tells us he overcame many obstacles to work in his current position at Hamot.

"If you would have told me when I got hired back in May of 2017 if I was going to be doing this," said Nick Seib, Emergency Room Stocking Clerk. "No, I would have just been shocked or surprised that in the future I would be doing something like this." 

Hamot is just one of four UPMC hospitals involved with this national program. In 2022, 100-percent of the students were retained as UPMC Hamot employees with skills they learned through the program.