Thursday marked the 12 annual YP Summit, focused at energizing and engaging young professionals in Omaha.
Young professionals are starting up in and around the metro. Sometimes in business for themselves, other times working for others. For many, staying in the big O or moving a to a bigger city comes up when they think career.
"For a long time, when I was going through high school, there was a formula to how young people existed in Omaha," says Dawaune Hayes, "you had high school, you went to college, and then you did UP or Conagra and then you leave."
The most recent census numbers put 259,275 young professionals living in greater Omaha between the ages of 20 and 39. Today, roughly 1500 of them brainstormed ways to keep that talent and grow it in town.
"We want this to be the future of Omaha. Where you have a job, you start your own thing. You're entertained. You do a lot of things you want to in your life," Allison Shorr, event chair said.
When Catherine Adams was born in 1994, a new house cost 120,000 dollars and the average income in the U.S. was 37,000. Now, in an age where millenials get a reputation for being lazy and self centered. Adams says don't judge her generation. They're ambitious and hungry.
"We are hardworking and we are going to be the future of this country and business. We are an important group. I think us coming together today is only empowering us more," she said.
