Breaking into the professional world can be a pain for any 20-something or fresh college graduate.
Andrea Lopez, external affairs manager for the Ute Water Conservancy District, knows that feeling all too well.
“We need to be honest about what it means to be a young professional in a community where so much is already set in place,” Lopez said. “The community has established professionals in it, and that can be intimidating.”
That’s where Young Professionals Network of Mesa County (YPN) and Lopez, this year’s chair of YPN, come in.
Sponsored by the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce, the network aims to connect local professionals with one another and, well, establish a network.
Members pay fees — a maximum of $65 per year — to cover costs, have access to the network’s Facebook group and various events.
A small group may meet at 7 a.m. at a local coffee shop for a before-hours event or swing by a brewery for an after-hours drink.
Members will also meet for lunch at local businesses to learn about them, and volunteer in the community.
Young Professionals Network has about 200 members, Lopez said, and about 25 show up at each event.
The age range is murky, starting at about 18 years old and going well into their 30s. Members tend to age out in their late 30s or early 40s.
The group provided a massive boost for Lopez. She graduated from Colorado Mesa University in 2017 and jumped right into working for Ute Water.
Not long after, she joined the network.
“It felt like everybody already knew everybody. Many of our members moved here for college or for a job, so they don’t have roots here and don’t know a lot of people,” Lopez said. “That’s what this group does. Our members feel like they’re getting to know more people or are gaining the confidence to go meet people. That’s what it gave me when I joined.”
And that’s what it also gave Derek Irick, a Realtor with Bray Real Estate.
Irick grew up in Fruita but was adopted as a child from China. He came across a Facebook post for a network event and decided he’d try it out. Almost instantly, he said he felt welcomed.
“I love to give back to the community, and that’s what we’re all about here,” he said. “We encourage each other, and I think it helps that we’re all roughly at the same stage in life. We know what each other is going through.”
Irick highly recommends that people join YPN. Or, at the least, come to an event and check it out.
For information and to join, visit ypnmc.org.
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