In January, FP&M teamed up with Project SEARCH and the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) to start providing valuable internship opportunities for young adults with disabilities, helping them transition from high school to the workforce with hands-on experience and skill-building support.
Project SEARCH is a year-long program for adults ages 18-21 with disabilities from MMSD. During the year, participants receive classroom instruction while exploring career opportunities with hands-on training at different worksites.
Andy Peregrino (Custodial Services) and Jacob Pauley (Campus Services) were FP&M’s first MMSD and Project SEARCH interns, working with Physical Plant. Training with supervisors Alma Lara and Brad Schenkel respectively, the interns quickly learned essential skills like customer service, team collaboration and effective communication.
FP&M Recruitment Specialist Cinthya Canicoba coordinates this partnership alongside Sara Hanson and Sebastian Kelnhofer-Maldonado from the Office of Human Resources. It has been beneficial — not just for the student interns, but also for their supervisors and the division as a whole.
“We’re all learning as a community how to support and work with people that have a disability, and how to build a more inclusive environment,” Cinthya said. “And simultaneously, the students are learning a lot of skills.”
FP&M supervisors hold regular, informal check-ins with both the student interns and their job coaches from the Project SEARCH organization. It’s this consistent feedback loop that benefits all participants the most.
Andy, who has already completed two internship programs with UW–Madison, said that it’s the communication and trust from other employees that has made his time with FP&M so valuable.
“It’s relaxing to build a routine around the work, but it’s also just nice to be around people learning,” Andy said. “I share a sense of camaraderie with my team. It has been nice to meet everyone.”
Moving forward, more students are expected to be matched with internships at FP&M, starting with Jay Vang who recently joined the Stores unit in Physical Plant, with Jamie Werwinski as his supervisor. Matches are based on the students’ profiles and preferences, according to Project SEARCH Site Coordinator Jason Penticoff.
“We are always looking to expand based on the fit of the individual or the needs of the division,” Jason said. “A good fit is with a student that can grow in their environment.”
While the partnership is still in its infancy, Cinthya hopes this experience will help inspire other divisions to become involved and increase the number of internships available for Project SEARCH students.
“The feedback we’ve gotten thus far has been very positive, and I’m excited to get more students involved,” Cinthya said. “This has been a team effort between the Office of Human Resources, MMSD and our FP&M supervisors. I’m happy that our students are happy because the main goal is for them to thrive and have a positive experience.”
Reach out to Cinthya at cinthya.canicoba@wisc.edu if you are interested in the program and want to become involved or have additional questions.
By: Corinne Loth
Corinne is a strategic communications student intern with FP&M Marketing & Communications. She is a senior at UW–Madison majoring in Communications and Information Science with a certificate/minor in Digital Studies. Corinne has been working at FP&M since January 2024.