Young professionals find opportunities in Sheboygan

SHEBOYGAN - Growing up in a suburb of New York, and later living in Chicago, 3 Sheeps co-owner James Owen said he never really thought about where things were made — until he moved to Sheboygan.

“The coolest thing after coming here was meeting people who make stuff. Living in the city, you don’t meet too many people that make things. Here, I’ve learned how coffee is roasted, how cheese is made, how farms operate," Owen said. "I can’t even count how many people I’ve met who make certain things that, living the city life, you take for granted and don’t really think about.”

The image of Wisconsin known to those outside the state is often less then desirable — or nonexistent — but once they relocate here, young professionals find a lot to like about Sheboygan County.

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Courtney Gatlin said he new very little about Wisconsin, other than the Packers, prior to moving from Missouri to attend college at Lakeland University — and his first impression of the state left a lot to be desired.

"When I first came up to visit the college, we got in the car and it was hot and humid in St. Louis,” he said. “It got a little bit chillier in Illinois, then we got to Milwaukee and started to roll the windows up because it was getting colder and colder.”

Now married with kids, Gatlin said he found a lot to love about Sheboygan. After college, Gatlin developed a mentoring program for at-risk youth and now gives back to the community that he found so accepting.

“Missouri is more segregated. I thought Wisconsin was mostly white people,” Courtney said. “I thought it would be more segregated than what it was, but no, I got up here and felt accepted.”

They key to attracting and retaining millennials is to help them get acclimated and feel involved in the community, which can be a hurdle for those arriving from out of state, according to Carissa Schlegel, the special events coordinator for Coastal Young Professionals.

Coastal YPN, a Sheboygan County Chamber group, brings together young professionals for monthly social events to build community among the group. The chamber also hosts newcomer events to help new employees to the area meet other professionals in the county.

“We more or less want to show that we have things to do here. You’re not alone,"  Schlegel said. "You don’t have to stay home and watch Netflix. You can go out; there are people you can meet.”

The group is becoming impactful in the community and trying to create the culture they want to see in Sheboygan. This year, the group launched Coastal Cares, which connects young professionals with volunteer opportunities in the community.

The group has helped new young professionals make connections. Barbara Alvarez, a Coastal member who lived in a suburb of Chicago but took frequent trips to Sheboygan during the summer in her youth, said she wondered if she would develop the same love of the community living here as she experienced during vacations in her youth.

"Now that we’re here, not just on weekends sporadically throughout the year, we’ve really developed a lot of friends,” Alvarez said. “We didn’t know if, being from out of state, it would be a big adjustment, but people have been so welcoming.”

Alvarez said the size of the community is perfect: big enough that there is lots to do, but small enough where you can create lasting relationships.

Alec Bartolai, a young professional at Satori who relocated from Illinois, said he had heard there was nothing to do in Sheboygan, but found a vibrant community once we moved.

“I hate to say this, but the perception is there is nothing to do,” he said. “Some of our locals are our biggest critics of the community. It’s not just Sheboygan, but any community has people who live there and say there is nothing to do. Once you see it with fresh eyes, you see it differently. I think people just need to have an open mind.”

As a newcomer coming into the region, he feared he would not be accepted. Yet, the corporate climate at Sargento harbored a strong sense of family — a value he said runs throughout the whole community.

“You truly feel like a member of the family,” he said, “And I don’t think Sargento is unique among companies in Sheboygan. There are a lot of family-owned companies in the area that hold a high value in their employees.”

For Owen, the only exposure to Wisconsin was a rafting trip he took in college, but since moving he has found a lot to enjoy about the community.

“The cost of living here was a welcome feature. It was a big selling point for me," he said. “I saw so much potential here in a small, but not tiny, city that has a lot of features that are attractive for someone like me coming from the city or quasi-city life.”

There is also value in being close to big metro areas like Milwaukee and Green Bay, but Bartolai stressed there is plenty to do locally without having to commute.

"You don’t need to go to Milwaukee or Green Bay, you can get a lot of that value here without having to commit to an hour commute,” Bartolai said.  “There are a lot of options to have fun here, and you don’t necessarily need a Milwaukee or a Chicago to do that.”

To get involved with Coastal Young Professionals, Go online to Sheboygan.org/coastal and click the "Join Us" button. There is no fee to join.

Reach Phillip Bock at 920-453-5121, pbock@sheboyganpress.com, or @bockling on Twitter