Naval Air Station Oceana hosts fourth Project SEARCH graduation

Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana hosted a graduation ceremony June 4, 2025 for eight Project SEARCH interns.

This marks the fourth year the Navy has hosted this innovative program, which connects high school students with intellectual and developmental disabilities to internships and on-the-job training. NAS Oceana is the only naval installation to host this innovative program.

Project SEARCH is a collaborative effort between Virginia Beach City Public Schools, Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, Virginia Department of Education, Didlake, Inc., and Virginia Commonwealth University Rehabilitation Research and Training Center.

“Today reminds us what true service looks like at NAS Oceana. Not just the kind measured in deployments or hours on the flight line, but the kind that supports families,” said NAS Oceana Commanding Officer Capt. Josh Appezzato. “These extraordinary interns have inspired us every single day and have shown us that strength isn’t just found in aircraft and ships. It’s found in compassion, in partnerships, and in investing in every member of the next generation.”

Combining classroom instruction and hands-on training, Project SEARCH engages its interns in a ten-month, holistic approach to starting a career. Since September, the military-connected interns worked side-by-side with employees at NAS Oceana’s Commissary, Navy Exchange, MWR, Public Works, the Navy Inn, and NAS Oceana’s Child and Youth Program.

“We don’t just support our interns, we challenge them with authentic, real-world experiences that build the skills and resilience needed for meaningful employment beyond the program,” said Senior Chief Culinary Specialist Patricia Bermudez, NAS Oceana’s Project SEARCH coordinator. “Our mission is to graduate confident, capable individuals who will enter the workforce believing in their own potential and future.”

Since starting the program in Sept. 2021, Project SEARCH interns have completed 96 internships across multiple businesses at NAS Oceana, according to Jan Varney, Transition and Instructional Specialist for the Virginia Beach City Public Schools’ Office of Programs for Exceptional Children. Collectively, interns worked approximately 24,000 hours, while gaining employability and independent living skills that they will use throughout their lifetimes.

“The unwavering partnership and support from NAS Oceana and its businesses have transformed the lives of these young adults,” said Varney. “This partnership will continue to strengthen our entire community with additional skilled and dependable individuals that are ready to join the workforce.”

To date, 20 Project SEARCH graduates have found long term employment upon completion of the program at NAS Oceana.