Texas Teen With Down Syndrome's Reaction to Getting 1st Job Will Make You Smile

Ben Sunderman waited for days for his acceptance letter.

ByABC News
April 17, 2015, 11:04 AM

— -- Ben Sunderman watched the mailbox for days to find out whether he got his internship, and when it finally arrived, his reaction was priceless.

His mother had her camera on as Ben Sunderman, who is 19 and has Down syndrome, opened the envelope and read the acceptance letter aloud until he got to the very end.

"What does that mean, Ben?" Sharon Sunderman asks. "Did you get it?"

He freezes, his face breaking into a smile.

"I get it!" he shouts, throwing both hands into the air. "I get a job!"

He hugs his father and goes in for a few double high-fives as his parents congratulate him.

Sharon Sunderman told ABC News that her son had applied for a job at the Embassy Suites hotel in Frisco, Texas, through Project Search. Project Search helps children with disabilities transition from high school into the working world.

She said she couldn't go with him on his job interview, but she learned that he told the interviewers that he had three goals: "to get a job, to build his muscles and to find a girlfriend," Sharon Sunderman said.

Starting in August, Ben Sunderman will take public transportation from their home in Mckinney, Texas, to the hotel and work at his internship for eight hours, Sharon Sunderman said.

"Set your expectations high," Sharon Sunderman said to other parents of children with disabilities. "We just always encouraged him to do everything he could do. He does his laundry like his siblings, makes his bed like his siblings. There is joy."

Last year, Ben Sunderman even won the title of prom king by a landslide, she said.

"Everyone sees him as Ben and loves him for who he is, which is great," she said, adding that things have really changed since she was growing up. "Adults with disabilities can really add value. Just the joy that Ben has at the fact that he is able to get a job and be part of the community. That's what every parent wants for their kid."

PHOTO: Ben Sunderman, who is 19 and has Down syndrome, reacts to receiving the acceptance letter to his first job.
Ben Sunderman, who is 19 and has Down syndrome, reacts to receiving the acceptance letter to his first job.