Colleagues discuss gaining confidence at work, finding a sense of belonging through Project SEARCH Program
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In this "Mayo Clinic Employee Experiences" conversation, Jose Franco Carrasco, a team assistant, and Ian Perry, a desk operations specialist, discuss the relationship they formed through Project SEARCH, and how it helped Franco Carrasco find a sense of belonging at Mayo Clinic.
Mayo Clinic is a unique place: the culture, the values, the people. "Mayo Clinic Employee Experiences" explores the experiences of Mayo Clinic staff as they navigate life personally and professionally. Sharing these experiences increases understanding of others and ultimately contributes to finding connections, belonging and inclusion at work.
In this episode, you will hear from Jose Franco Carrasco, a team assistant, and Ian Perry, a desk operations specialist, as they discuss how their relationship formed during Franco Carrasco's internship at Mayo through Project SEARCH, a transition-to-work program for young people with disabilities.
Perry was Franco Carrasco's mentor and made it his goal to help Franco Carrasco find his confidence and thrive in a team-based environment. Franco Carrasco, now a Mayo Clinic staff member, shares his inspiring journey of finding a sense of belonging in his new workplace, and how he is paying it forward by being a mentor for new Project SEARCH interns.
Perry and Franco Carrasco work together, serving the needs of patients and creating a meaningful experience for new interns.
Listen as Franco Carrasco and Perry discuss their experiences:
Read the transcript:
Narrator: This is the "Mayo Clinic Employee Experiences" podcast, where we build trust and belonging through the authentic storytelling of our Mayo Clinic staff. In this episode, you will hear Jose, a team assistant, and Ian, a desk operations specialist, share how their relationship formed during Jose's internship with Project SEARCH, a transition-to-work program for young people with disabilities.
Franco Carrasco: During my senior year at Shadow Mountain High School, I was struggling so much and graduation was five months away. My consideration was to go to college or get a job. Although I wanted to go to college, I was scared.
I started to do a few academic courses, but it wasn't enough to complete college. As I was struggling, my speech teacher introduced me to Project SEARCH. I didn't know that Project SEARCH was in the hospital to help individuals with neurodiversity work in the workforce. She said that this would be perfect for me to learn about new opportunities. I said I'll definitely take it on. I wanted to learn so much in a hospital. That's why I'm here now.
Why did you decide to get involved with Project SEARCH?
Perry: When I came to Mayo, I wanted to help people. But I didn't have a medical background. I didn't know exactly how I wanted to help people, but I knew working at Mayo would give me that opportunity.
In my role as a desk operations specialist, my supervisor approached me and started to tell me about Project SEARCH. She said, "I know your strength is connecting with people. There's this thing called Project SEARCH that we, as desk operations specialists, are going to do for the first time. And I thought of you." And before she could even finish, I said that I was in.
I didn't know what my job would be as a mentor, but I was 100% in. This is an actual tangible way to help people and not only help patients as we do in desk operations every day. This would be my opportunity to help someone grow in a lifelong type of way.
You were the first intern I had. It was a chance to help you grow and learn every day and give you skills that you're not only going to be able to keep with you through your career, but also in your life. It was what I had been searching for without even realizing I had been searching for it.
Franco Carrasco: The very start of the program was quite nerve-wracking for me. I had never worked in a hospital environment before. And it took me some time for my nerves to disappear.
When I joined as a desk operations specialist in the first rotation I did with you, I was really shy. I kind of isolated myself, but at the same time I wanted to get involved with more opportunities and to show all of you what I'm capable of.
I absolutely enjoyed it.
It gave me the strength to believe in myself not only as a desk operations specialist, but also helped me get more hands-on experience with patients in Physical Therapy using different tools. I learned so much.
For hard skills, it was navigating into the computer, checking in patients or getting them ready in the exam room. Soft skills were communication skills to advocate for myself. It really did help me a lot as months went by, and I started to grow and evolve more.
Perry: I'm proud of a lot of the things I do at Mayo, but being a mentor was by far the most fulfilling thing I've done so far.
I think we connected from day 1. When you came in, you were very shy, like you said. Your shoulders were slumped. You were looking at the ground a little bit.
To see you go from a person who wasn't sure of himself to what I see you now a year and a half later working on the team — it's as if you have always been on the team. There is no Shy Jose. There is no Jose who doesn't have the confidence that you have.
I remember the first day when I asked you if you like to have lunch by yourself or have someone with you. This broke my heart — you said, "Well, I'm used to being alone at lunch."
That second, I said, "There is no time Jose will ever be alone as long as you're in my rotation. As long as you're here at Mayo, you're always going to have someone to sit with at lunch."
You guys really broke that barrier and made me understand that I was never alone. You gave me hope and belief that I can do so much even if I have a disability.
Jose Franco Carrasco
That was what illuminated what Project SEARCH was for me. Yes, it's teaching you to room patients or work on the computer and check patients in. But my goal was to get you confident, to get you to feel like you're part of the team. I wanted to make sure that every day you showed up as an intern, you knew you fit here.
Our team was great with that as well because they made you feel welcome. We enjoyed you, and we started to see you loosen up very quickly.
Franco Carrasco: One of the most impactful moments was right after work, I gathered in the modular buildings with the interns — I call them my friends. We would discuss our daily debriefing. We would share about our days and our departments, which all of us were excited about every day.
Another thing that really impacted me so much was everyone in Project SEARCH, Desk Operations, and Physical Therapy opened my eyes to possibilities I'd never envisioned before.
All my life, I had been struggling so much when I discovered I had a disability after 6th grade. My whole life shattered me, leaving me feeling like I was born with a curse and like I was trapped in a box, where there were only a few things that I could learn.
There's so much that I had never discovered before or learned like everyone else was doing. I felt like I was never going to be accepted.
I felt like, what would people think of me? What will people see in me? Will they accept me for who I am? It was the biggest question I had that was wrapped around my head for so long, but you guys helped me envision something else.
You guys really broke that barrier and made me understand that I was never alone. You gave me hope and belief that I can do so much even if I have a disability. That's never going to stop me from doing what I want to do.
Perry: What you just said about being in a box, I think that is one of the ways that my mentorship aligns with the Mayo Clinic culture and values. When we talk about "Stewardship" as one of the RICH TIES for me in the mentor role, I think that is exactly what you're talking about — teaching you that you don't belong in a box, teaching you confidence.
I could see from the get-go what kind of person you are. You're a hard worker. You care about people. You want to help, so I knew that the challenge was gonna be getting you to actually believe that. I already knew it from day 1. I could see it in your eyes. You were all heart, so to make you believe that that ability was already there — that was my goal.
I think a lot of Project SEARCH interns, at some point in their lives, have felt like outsiders. To be able to make you not feel that way, that's very important to me. It's not something that ends at the end of the rotation. It's not just nine weeks and then goodbye. You really form a bond Jose's my friend, without question.
For you to go from nervous and shy and unsure of yourself to teaching the new interns how to do the job — I can't say there's anything more fulfilling than seeing that.
Ian Perry
A tip that I would give potential mentors is to recognize that everyone's going to learn differently. As a mentor, you have to adapt your style to whatever learning style the intern comes in with. Pay attention to the cues they're giving. Pay attention to the effect that your teaching style is having on them. You can adjust it to meet their needs. If you are going to be a mentor, just be open-minded and be ready for any kind of learning style.
Franco Carrasco: What I enjoy most about being at Mayo, No. 1 is definitely helping patients. That's something I've wanted to do all my life — to really help people and do everything that I can to make a patient's day. Even if sometimes you don't make their day, you at least do everything to help that patient.
No. 2 is to feel accepted and be part of the team. Before I was just really shutting down and blocking everything. I was scared that nobody would ever accept me. You guys gave me the hope to be part of the team. You guys gave me opportunities and believed in me, that I can do everything.
Lastly, I'm now a mentor. I am helping a Project SEARCH intern. It really takes me back to when I was an intern. Now I'm here, and I'm training with an intern. It's such a pleasure to do that. I love to help people and to help them learn about the work environment. But also to accept who they are. They can do whatever they want in life. I'm just really excited just to be a mentor.
Perry: And that's it — hearing Jose say that what we mentors and the Project SEARCH group have done is successful. For you to go from nervous and shy and unsure of yourself to teaching the new interns how to do the job — I can't say there's anything more fulfilling than seeing that. You're paying it forward, and it's a beautiful thing to see. I'm so proud of you. I'm proud of all the interns. I feel honored to be a part of it, even in a small or large way. It really means a lot to me.
Franco Carrasco: I want to thank all of you. I want to thank you, Ian. I want to thank everyone in Project SEARCH, Desk Operations and Physical Therapy for helping me become who I am and giving me the confidence to be where I am now.
You gave me that strength back, and I'm so thankful and blessed for this. There are so many opportunities for me to grow. I am a lifelong learner.
Things will take time for sure, but it's never going to stop me. Even with my disability, it will be within me for the rest of my life, it's never going to affect the things I want to do.
You gave me that strength back, and I'm so thankful and blessed for this. There are so many opportunities for me to grow.
Jose Franco Carrasco
I can break those obstacles and prove to myself that I can do so much more. I want people to really understand that just because you have a disability, don't let that title be tied to you for the rest of your life. Be proud of who you are and find those people who can help you and support you and make you feel accepted, too.
I wanted to thank my parents, too, for believing in me and for accepting me who I am and not as a failure. I really want to give people hope to never stop doing what they love.
Narrator: Thank you both for sharing your experience with us. Jose, it is inspiring to hear your story as a former Project SEARCH intern, now a confident Mayo Clinic employee who mentors new interns and is doing what you love, helping others.
Ian, thank you for your dedication to establishing an environment where people can thrive. It may be the first time you two didn't have tears talking about your journey, but I certainly did.
Sharing experiences like these increases our understanding of one another and ultimately contributes to finding connections, belonging and inclusion at work. For more stories, subscribe to "Mayo Clinic Employee Experiences" on popular podcast apps.
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