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What is it like to live, work, and play in the Roanoke Region of Virginia? See it through the eyes of some of the region’s young professionals in their own words.

Sydni Chernault was born and raised in Fussa, Japan. She made the move to Virginia for college and after graduation, “the mountains kept me.” She recently bought her first home in the region and plans to stay long term.

She works as the production lead at Eddy Alexander, an advertising agency in downtown Roanoke. “I love that I’m able to use my creative mind for different projects every week at work,” she said of her job. “It really keeps me on my toes.”

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What is it like to live, work, and play in the Roanoke Region of Virginia? See it through the eyes of some of the region’s young professionals in their own words.

Ubadah Sabbagh came to Roanoke four years ago from Syria as a Ph.D. student at Virginia Tech. His job is “essentially figuring out how we make sense of the visual world around us. As a neuroscientist, I study the connections between the eye and the brain to figure out how those two pieces of the visual system are wired up.”

He loves that aspect of his work, as well as being able to share it with the community through STEM outreach and giving talks around town.

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What is it like to live, work, and play in the Roanoke Region of Virginia? See it through the eyes of some of the region’s young professionals in their own words.

Frank Boxley has lived in Roanoke – off and on – for his whole life and currently resides at the foot of Mill Mountain. He works in sales for Steel Dynamics, the third largest steel producer in the United States.

Did you know that Steel Dynamics, Roanoke Bar Division is an Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steel mill, meaning it derives 98.2% of its finished product from recycled steel scrap? Plus, most of the scrap material (92%) used in the manufacturing process is sourced within a 200-mile radius of Roanoke, Virginia.

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What is it like to live, work, and play in the Roanoke Region of Virginia? See it through the eyes of some of the region’s young professionals in their own words.

Jeff and Bethany Todd recently bought Roanoke Mountain Adventures, which offers gear rentals and has an outdoor gear consignment shop. The full-service outfitter has guided and self-guided outdoor adventures for mountain biking, road cycling, paddleboarding (SUP), kayaking, tubing, and other activities.

Jeff and Bethany have been living and working in the Roanoke Region for a while.

Jeff is a lawyer turned baseball writer who works from home, so he likes to get off the computer and on his feet as soon as possible. He is the vice president of the Wasena Neighborhood Forum and recently joined the Mill Mountain Advisory Board.

Bethany is an educator by training and is doing coursework toward eventually becoming a school administrator while serving a second term as Wasena Elementary PTA president.

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What is it like to live, work, and play in the Roanoke Region of Virginia? See it through the eyes of some of the region’s young professionals in their own words.

Jim Casey, 36, is an OBGYN working at Carilion Clinic and lives in the Raleigh Court neighborhood with his family (wife, Emily, and son, Will). The Caseys came to the Roanoke Region thanks to job opportunities three years ago. He even ran the Blue Ridge Marathon “on a whim” right before making the move because they were looking at a house the weekend of the event.

“I love the accessibility of the outdoors from work and home, and the small/big town feel together,” Jim said about the region. “There’s just enough size and quirk for everyone to find their groove.”

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What is it like to live, work, and play in the Roanoke Region of Virginia? See it through the eyes of some of the region’s young professionals in their own words.

Katey McBurney is a Roanoke native that moved back to the area after nine years of living in Washington, DC. Katey, husband Ryan, and their 2-year-old son moved back to the region in June with remote jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Katey works as head of the client success program at a financial tech company, Asurity, and Ryan is director of digital marketing for Interactive Strategies. Both companies are based in Washington, DC.

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What is it like to live, work, and play in the Roanoke Region of Virginia? See it through the eyes of some of the region’s young professionals in their own words.

Libba Cooper is the Events Coordinator for the Taubman Museum of Art, where she plans annual fundraisers and internal events for the Museum. “Working for a nonprofit I get to dabble in many different areas,” she said.

Libba grew up in Winston-Salem, NC, and fell in love with the region as a student at Roanoke College. Continue reading “YP Q&A: Libba Cooper”