Same Aspirations, Different Paths: BBPN Celebrates International Youth Day 2026

By Sheila Kazvini
Summer Technical & Communication Analyst

For International Youth Day, BBPN brought its YETAP cohort together for a Saturday session that ran from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., part online, part in person, and, according to Sheila Kazvini, entirely worth the trip.

Sixteen youth took part. On Zoom, YETAP participants learned about prompt engineering, AI safety, and smarter pitching strategies from Mary-Gloria Egbor, a Business Analyst and Technology Professional with an MBA from the University of New Brunswick and a degree in Computer Science.

A Room Full of Real Talk

In person at ConnexionWorks in Saint John, the session was led by Ogorchukwu Ugolo, with special guests Bridget Ibukun and Noela, a Trailblazer graduate of BBPN’s very first YETAP class.

Noela shared how the program had shaped her own path, closing with a heartfelt spoken word tribute on behalf of the Alumni Class of 2025, a moment that connected this year’s cohort directly to the students who came before them.

Bridget, meanwhile, brought the perspective of someone actually running a business. Speaking from her experience in the decorating industry, she pushed the group to think about something a lot of young entrepreneurs skip: knowing the real worth of your business and your ideas, and not underselling either one.

Why It Matters

International Youth Day isn’t just a celebration. For BBPN’s YETAP program, it’s a checkpoint, a chance for current students to hear directly from an alum who was exactly where they are a year ago, and to walk away with practical tools, from AI literacy to pitching skills to a sharper sense of self worth, that they can use immediately.

Same aspirations. Different paths. One growing community.

Want to be part of BBPN’s next YETAP cohort? Learn more about YETAP and how to apply.