From shame to glory: Project SEARCH student gets job – Health Sharing

Disability Employment Awareness Month with Connor Giesbrecht

Every Wednesday during Connor Giesbrecht’s Project SEARCH lab study, he conducted an experiment—using an emergency decontamination device available to wash a person’s body or clothing if exposed to the substance. it is dangerous.

“It’s really nice. You lower the blade and it’s not a small shower – it’s a big shower. A lot of water is coming out, ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​with it, you needs to find anything you need quickly,” explained Giesbrecht, Project SEARCH program director.

Running this test is a two-person job which meant that every week Connor had to ask another team member to help him.

“Before Project SEARCH I was a very quiet person. My experience in the laboratory helped me to open up, and it was the first step in integrating my social skills,” said Connor.

Project SEARCH is a program designed to help people with different abilities receive training and mentoring with the goal of employment, increased self-confidence and skills to ask for support.

“I always had a hard time at school. I have trouble concentrating and rarely finish my assignments. This caused me to be late and give them back, which lowered my confidence,” said Connor. “I had a hard time asking for help but my experience at Project SEARCH taught me looking deeply into my issues and finding ways to deal with them.

He added: “I think we can all learn to ask for more help when we need it.

As part of the program, each student has three rounds. For Connor, he got the chance to work in the HSC lab with HSC Space Allocation, followed by a rotation in the kitchen of a Winnipeg independent living facility – where he got a job at full time.

Connor credits the training he received through Project SEARCH for his ability and confidence to ask for help and have conversations with his time management skills. On the other hand, his kitchen team has made a comfortable accommodation to help him succeed and succeed in his work.

“When I started, it was very difficult,” Connor recalled. “You need to be able to multitask very well. When the dishes come in, you need to be able to load them, wash them, take them out of the dishwasher and unload them. while at the same time other dishes are coming in and you’re jumping between the two. It’s very fast.”

“Chef moved my schedule to add 15 minutes to the end of my day, which helped me a lot to be able to finish everything at the end of my work. Now I’m working very good,” said Connor, who is eager to get his degree in food processing so he can expand his role in the kitchen.

“I’m also a perfectionist, so that’s always been another problem. It’s a skill and a distraction at times,” adds Connor, who now benefits from a technique called boundary setting.

Boundary settings immediately increased Connor’s performance and productivity by repeatedly repeating his commitment to a task. For Connor, that meant instead of continuing to wipe the cup, he now reads the repeat three times before putting it in the dishwasher which shortens his time at work.

“At first I was not interested or unsure about the SEARCH project. The procrastinator in me took a long time and motivation to apply, but I’m glad I did.”

Connor learned a lot along the way, expanding his social skills and ability to complete tasks thoroughly, efficiently and on time. Her success and growth have been so inspiring to others that her classmates chose her to speak at their graduation.

From the shy student he once was, Connor the student confidently presented to this year’s new class of students about his experience and his work.

“My advice to this year’s team, when the going gets tough, keep pushing and working hard. Also, be more open to receiving help. It might take a little longer, but that’s normal and eventually you get better, that’s what helped me.”

“I’m so thankful for this program and that I jumped in and helped it,” Connor said. “I hope that by sharing my story, others can understand it.”