New to Central Virginia? Find Your Community with These Tips
Between unpacking boxes and making connections, moving to a new community can be intimidating. Good news: Central Virginia is known for offering ample opportunities for newcomers, so they can quickly get plugged in. Three transplants share their strategies.
Navya Aenugu
Navya Aenugu grew up in Northern Virginia but moved to attend the University of Virginia (UVA) in Charlottesville. She created her own interdisciplinary major through the Echols Scholars Program – focusing on computer science, cognitive science and commerce – with a minor in entrepreneurship. She’s interested in the emerging market of neurotechnology.
Aenugu is Charlottesville Business Innovation Council’s Student Entrepreneur of the Year for 2024 and the founder of a STEM start-up.
How did you start making connections in the Charlottesville community beyond campus?
Last year, I really got acclimated, met a lot of people in Greater Charlottesville and became familiar with the region’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. I started talking to people who were giving talks and hosting events, and I ended up speaking at one, where I met a lot of locals who aren’t students.
From there, I started meeting a whole different segment of people, talking to different companies in the area and learning about how Charlottesville compares to other cities.
How has being involved in the community benefited your future?
One thing I value overall is the relationships I build with people. I believe in quality over quantity. Being in a smaller town really helps you to understand – end-to-end –what the community looks like, even if you don’t know everyone. I come from a much larger city, so I can know 250 people and really not know anyone. In Charlottesville, [forming a relationship with] just one person really helped me because it led me to two new people, and that became four, and it just kept growing.
It feels good to be in a tight-knit community where everyone supports each other. It feels very much like we’re all in this together to shape the future. Moving beyond UVA, these are people that I can always have in my network, who I know will support me.
Sarah Langland
Sarah Langland moved to a 20-acre property near Culpeper with her partner almost 10 years ago from Fairfax County, Virginia. She is the events coordinator at the Culpeper Chamber of Commerce and is a member of their Rising Professionals networking group.
How did you start making friends in your new town?
My partner and I are into the music scene and like going to bars and restaurants to hear live music, so we just talk to the people next to us and meet people.
My first job here was with the Salvation Army, which was a Chamber member, and I met a lot of people at Chamber events. I got involved in the nonprofit council and met amazing people there, then I got involved with Girls on the Run and became a coach. I made friends by volunteering. That was a big way I got connected.
You participated in the Lead Culpeper program. What made that experience beneficial?
I started my own event planning business and joined the Chamber, which led me to join the Lead Culpeper program, an 11-month deep dive into the community. I have lifelong friends that came from that experience, and the program connected me with community leaders and business owners I wouldn’t otherwise have met.
That led me to apply for my current role when it opened. It was a natural fit for me, since I had already been involved with the event committees. Volunteering and showing up for local events were key. People got to know me, and we built a rapport. The job I have now is because of those relationships I built.
Yolunda Harrell
Yolunda Harrell moved to Charlottesville from Columbia, South Carolina sight unseen for a role as the general manager of the Red Roof Inn hotel. Not long after, she launched her own nonprofit, New Hill Development Corporation, which focuses on creating business opportunities and redefining wealth among Charlottesville’s Black community.
How did you start making friends in your new town?
When I first got here, as a single Black woman working right across from UVA, I wondered where to find Black people my age. I was surprised to not easily find a Black community in Charlottesville.
Within a couple of months, a Black gentleman came in passing out flyers for a Black-owned business opening up. I was so excited! The gentleman behind the counter was the business partner of the gentleman who was passing out flyers, and he is now my husband!
We became friends for about five years before we started dating. I was complaining to him that I hadn’t been able to meet many Black people, and he was very community-focused and entrenched in the community. He encouraged me to volunteer and get involved. Once I got involved, it became very easy to start meeting people.
What advice do you have for someone moving to Charlottesville who wants to get involved in their community?
We’re a small community. It’s really about networking and understanding where the resources and assets are and making sure you develop good working relationships with those organizations, so we can all be front doors into the ecosystem.
The best way to get involved is to figure out what you like and are good at; then, utilize that to serve others. You’ll grow from there.
People sometimes take for granted the skills they have and how to best bring those to the table. Somebody else might desperately want to develop in that way. If you want to see your community be different, you need to be of service to the community.
Get to Know Central Virginia
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