(ABC 6 News) – The Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce’s “Young Talent Network” held its first major conference since the organization’s founding just over a year ago.

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The RYT Summit offered professional development to its 175 members through speakers, workshops and networking designed to give young professionals skills and advice to advance their own careers.

“I think it’s a very unique opportunity in that Rochester has so many diverse and unique people here working on so many different things that it’s not just Med City,” said Valmik Patel, a participant who also works for Mayo Clinic.

One of the highlights of the event was keynote speaker, Paul Long, who spoke about his methods for developing more meaningful connections in the workplace.

“Whatever the culture looks like,” Long said, “we all have or are in a unique position to mold it ourselves, so we can not only build it top-down, but bottom-up, and that’s where I come in.”

The RYT Network holds a variety of other events twice a month, from tours of different workplaces to social events.