Local Professionals Share Life Lessons and Inspire the Next Generation at a Career Mixer with Schools That Can Pittsburgh

On a warm Tuesday morning in mid-March, Passport Academy Charter students showed up ready to network at a professional mixer lunch event held in collaboration with Schools That Can Pittsburgh. Ms. Kylee Carcione’s Career Course students met with nearly 10 volunteers from a diverse range of personal and professional backgrounds. The volunteers were selected by Mary Hester, the STC Pittsburgh facilitator (and full time local real estate professional and social entrepreneur), who utilized her classroom conversations with students to recruit potential mentors in the career fields students can see themselves pursuing. 

Using Schools That Can’s award-winning curriculum, students at Passport learned about communication skills, wrote and practiced elevator pitches. While also learning about developing a confident professional persona over the course of the first semester, this mixer ended up as a celebration of student growth and culmination.

Volunteers for the mixer included a number of local entrepreneurs and artists, interns and executive leadership in local non-profit organizations, to former nurses, industrial workers, and filmmakers. They each introduced themselves with a few reflective questions that demonstrated their experiences, perspectives, struggles, and hard learned lessons. They also shared support and encouragement so students felt safe and supported while pushing outside their comfort zones. 

Once the mixer began, any visible nervousness from students or volunteers evaporated, and students mingled and moved around, trying to ask questions of each guest in an informal and dynamic environment. By the end of the event, students were able to feel proud for honing their communication skills and developing a confidence in their ability to build strong relationships and connect in larger professional networks. With only 30 minutes reserved for the networking itself, students hung around after the event ended to keep interacting with the volunteers, eager to connect in brief, but impactful, interactions.

The mixer wasn’t only an opportunity for the students to demonstrate their skills, but also an opportunity for the professionals donating their time and energy to reflect on their unique journeys towards professional success and happiness while also acknowledging the benefit of these networking and communication skills in their own careers and lives. Asma M., an artist and touring musician with a background in academia who moved to Pittsburgh from California, said “it was so gratifying to share resources with students that it took [her] 20 years to learn how to access, and it’s exciting to watch students approach with hesitation and build excitement for real career opportunities in the arts in real time.”

After the event, Ms. Carcione and Ms. Hester worked with students to write notes thanking the guests, and it’s clear from the students’ own words that they were grateful for the opportunity to attend the mixer with Schools That Can Pittsburgh. Nashae C. wrote: “Thank you for taking the time to help us students have a chance to open our minds a bit more to understand what we want to do in the future.” As the economy stumbles and future career pathways become a little less certain, it’s these human communication skills that will help us ensure that we feel enough efficacy to face these career challenges with openness and optimism. 

As a follow-up to the career mixer, Schools That Can Pittsburgh was grateful to host the Spring 2025 Mock Interview Event at Passport Academy as well. Passport’s students were highly engaged in developing their interview skills, while speaking with professionals to help them figure out what their next life and career steps will be. 

Nearly 20 students attended the mock interview event, with volunteers representing Healthcare, Advanced Manufacturing, Entrepreneurship, Education, the Arts and beyond, Ms. Carcione's College and Career students received direct feedback about their career skills and plans, resumes and more. Some students may even have left with some connections for job opportunities with local employers. 

Schools That Can Pittsburgh values Passport Academy's urgent mission, its uniquely motivated and talented students, and its teachers who build trusting relationships in order to help those students launch their professional lives. On behalf of our organization, thanks for giving us the opportunity to support your students!

A note from Passport Academy: We believe in creating meaningful opportunities that connect our students to real-world experiences—and help them see what’s possible for their future. Events like this one with Schools That Can Pittsburgh are only one way we help students grow. Visit our website to learn more about all the experiences #PoweredByPACS you can unlock when you enroll.