Isn’t It Your Time To Emerge?
Welcome to the Young Emerging Professionals (YEP) website and our first blog post. I’m honored to be the first to post on this site. As chairman of YEP it is my hope that you find value in what we have to share with you from both a professional and personal development perspective as we grow the YEP network and evolve this website.

My Story
It was just over three years ago that I relocated back to the Naugatuck River Valley. Like many of us who live and work in the area, I grew up in the Valley. Having been away for nearly five years it felt good to be back. If you were to ask me when I had left if I thought I would end up back in the Valley – I would probably have responded with a resounding “not a chance”. You see, growing up I was fortunate to have shared many wonderful summer vacations in Europe visiting my relatives. Inevitably, at the end of each summer vacation abroad, I would be disappointed returning to the “dull” life here in Connecticut and the Valley.

Naturally, when it came time to think about college I didn’t hesitate to look out of state for my university of choice. In fact, I don’t even recall applying to a state college. My fortune of “getting out of the Valley” continued as I entered into my professional career that included the fast paced life of Manhattan and ultimately landing an opportunity that lead me to the City of Brotherly Love – Philadelphia.  All was well and life was good.

Then it happened. An opportunity arose that changed it all. I was presented with an opportunity to return to the company I had worked for early in my career and yes, it would mean a return to Connecticut. Don’t get me wrong, my time in Connecticut was never bad, in fact when I look back at it now it was quite good.

Opportunity
Upon returning to the region, I couldn’t believe all that I had missed, especially the development along the Bridgeport Avenue corridor in Shelton and the beautiful Derby Greenway. Seeing this made me excited to be home again. It tweaked my interest enough that I decided to take the Leadership Greater Valley courses offered by the Greater Valley Chamber. I couldn’t think of a better way to reconnect with the Valley than in a small round-table setting with area business leaders and government officials. After all, the theme of the sessions all focused on The Valley: its economy, resources and challenges.

It’s easy to look at neighboring cities like New York & Boston and get excited about the opportunities they offer both personally and professionally; especially for young professionals. Many argue that New York and Boston take away from the opportunities in Connecticut; but I like to look at it with a slightly different perspective. It’s an opportunity.

Not long ago, the average young professional could live virtually anywhere they wanted and still land a decent job. But times have changed. The economy is such that it’s not as easy to just pick up your belongings and move; especially to the big cities of New York and Boston. So we have to be resourceful with what we have today.

I wouldn’t trade my experiences in NYC or Philly for anything. But now that I’m back in CT and a little older (and hopefully a little wiser) I can’t help but think what a great place the Naugatuck Valley region is to live, work and play. We often hear about how important location, location, location is. This, I believe, is where the real opportunity exists for the region and Connecticut as a whole. Sometimes the hardest thing to see is right in front of us. Situated between the two big metro areas of New York and Boston and nestled along the Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers between the culture rich New Haven, Bridgeport and Waterbury/Hartford areas, it’s just a matter of opening one’s eyes to the incredible amount of opportunity we have right here in our own back yard.

Young Emerging Professionals
This is why I’m involved with the Young Emerging Professionals (YEP) movement. We are the leaders of tomorrow. It’s incumbent upon us to make this region where we live, work and raise our families a better place. It’s not impossible for just one or a few individuals to make an impact. In the short time our small group has been together we have already had several successful stories of young business professionals networking and cultivating new business contacts.  Additionally, we’ve been recognized and have collaborated on projects and events with other young professional groups in Connecticut such as the HYPE Hartford group and PULSE out of New Haven. And now we’re poised to take it to the next level for ourselves and for our region.

We’re bringing our energy, our passion and the strengths and skills each of us possesses back into our community. We have a very special fundraiser lined up on October 21st, Pink Night – it’s in support of the Campaign for Breast Wellness at Griffin Hospital and the featured event during the Valley Goes Pink Week. The great part about this fundraiser is that all the proceeds generated by it will go directly to the Cancer Center at Griffin.  These funds will have a direct impact on the Cancer Center and our region.

The YEPs will also be running in the Ninth Annual Commodore Hull Thanksgiving Day 5K Road Race. While the intent is to get the group together for a fun community event, the purpose of YEP’s involvement in the Turkey Trot is to use this as a catalyst to raise canned goods for those less fortunate at the Spooner House.

We have been hosting a great lineup of monthly after-hours events scheduled for those looking for the casual relaxed setting to meet other young professionals and to discover some of the region’s best restaurants and lounges.  We’re working with our region’s business leaders in an effort to help recruit and retain our young and talented professionals and keep them in the area. We’re doing all this and so much more with the purpose of creating opportunities for young professionals to connect with each other and the community, and to ensure that the Naugatuck Valley Region is the premier place to live, and work, all while having some fun.

So, isn’t it your time to emerge?

YEP!

Dan Onofrio has a senior leadership role at Environmental Data Resources in Milford, is an owner of Rita’s Water Ice in Bridgeport, and is one of the founders of the Young Emerging Professionals. Connect with Dan on Linkedin and Twitter.