Bethel Park High School sophomores Leena Miloua and Andrea Solorzano are creating a new program to help students explore careers and connect with business, healthcare, marketing, and law professionals.
The initiative, called BP Career Connect, grew out of an idea the students discussed on a bus ride home from last year’s DECA district competition. With guidance from DECA advisor Mrs. Emily Smoller, they refined the project to prepare it for competition and community implementation.
BP Career Connect allows students to participate in job shadows, field trips, and guest speaker sessions to gain real-world experience and discover and occasionally reconsider potential career paths. Students do not need to be members of DECA to participate.
“Having presented at DECA before helped calm our nerves and taught us how to get the word out,” Miloua said. “We want to give students a chance to explore careers in a hands-on way.”
The students are recruiting local professionals to host job shadows or mentor students. Businesses can contact the team at [email protected] or Mrs. Smoller at [email protected].
The career readiness project launched at the start of the 2025–26 school year. Miloua and Solorzano will present it in the Community Awareness category at the February 2026 DECA State Conference in Hershey, where students from across Pennsylvania showcase leadership and entrepreneurship projects. The program also maintains an Instagram account, @bp_career_connect, for students and businesses to follow their progress.
“By opening their workplaces to our students, businesses can help them explore careers, discover their passions, and begin to chart their career paths,” Solorzano said. “We’re excited to connect students with local professionals and inspire the next generation of business leaders in this region.”
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