NJYP Hosts Spring Fling Dance Party at Room 84

NJYP Hosts Spring Fling Dance Party at Room 84
Young professionals from around the state gathered in Hoboken Saturday night.

Hoboken.Patch.com, May 10, 2010
By DANIELLE ELLIOT

How often do you find lawyers, nannies, accountants, psychologists, paralegals, account managers and IT consultants sharing a drink and casual conversation?

That was exactly the scene Saturday night at Room 84, as the New Jersey Young Professionals hosted the annual Spring Fling Dance Party. It is the first event the group has hosted in Hoboken this month, though founder Laura Occhipinti says there will be at least three more in May and many throughout the year.

Started in 2004, when Occhipinti moved for work and wanted to expand her social network, NJYP now boasts more than 2,600 members. A lifetime membership is a bargain: just a one-time $20 fee keeps you in until your 40th birthday. There are between 20 and 30 events throughout the state each month. Activities range from hiking and biking to board games and happy hours.

Starting at 7:00p.m. Saturday, members arrived in droves. There were 135 tickets sold in advance, and many walk-ins.

As the group of 21 to 39-year-olds, whose job titles are as diverse as the population of Hoboken, filled the Washington Street bar, everyone seemed to have one thing in common: they were hoping to meet interesting new people.

It was the first NJYP event former Hoboken resident Avy Pruthi, 25, attended.

“I’m here to meet new people and mingle,” the account manager said. Pruthi chatted with Ben Darian, 25, of Cliffside Park and Marco Franco, 26, of Hoboken.

Franco, a lawyer, was also a first timer, and says he made three great new contacts in the first five minutes.

Further down the bar, cousins Laurence Miressi, 32, and Angela Mangioli, 25, had yet to meet any new faces. But Miressi has had success at former events.

“I’ve been to a handful,” he said, “and it’s a really great way to meet people. I brought her because she just moved here from Boston, and doesn’t know many people.”

Mangioli can take a cue from Kasey C, 30, and Kathy Tsenberlis, 33. The two met at an NJYP Cinco de Mayo event about four years ago.

“It’s usually a great crowd,” Tsenberlis said. “We’ve met some very interesting characters,” added Kasey, “but also some great friends.”

Heather Tallon, 22, of West Long Branch, and her friend, Shaneen Gobel, 31, of Montville, said that while the networking aspect is a good reason to come, they are more into the social scene.

“Of course networking is fun,” Gobel said, but then thought had about it. “Well, not really. It’s more of a social thing.”

The friends were talking with Phil Simon, a 37-year-old writer from Caldwell. Simon says in the six years he has been attending NJYP events, he has made several work connections.

“When I was writing my first book, I met someone who was able to set me up with a book signing at Barnes and Noble,” he recalls. “I occassionaly meet other techies, but more than anything this is great because it helps get me away from my computer.”

Not everyone was hoping to make a professional contact. Kevin Brennan, 33, is a psychologist. He credits the NJYP with introducing him to his “entire social network,” but says, “I’m definitely not here looking for new clients!”

Whether meeting new friends or reconnecting with other NJYP members, Occhipinti says the night was a success. Everyone stayed out until around midnight, and she says, "The goal was to bring together the dancers in the group and I think I accomplished that."
NJYP will be back in Hoboken on Wednesday night, with a Speed-Dating event at Buskers.

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