In many college towns, students leave after graduating and set up businesses or work elsewhere. But OpenBarre Studios in College Park shows why that’s not always the case here.

The studio, located at 7338 Baltimore Ave, Suite 200, was started by Lauren Filocco, a 2012 graduate of the University of Maryland who returned to the area after attending grad school in Florida.

She had been taking barre — a combination of elements of Pilates, yoga and ballet that’s become increasingly popular in recent years — and found herself driving a half hour to get to class.

“One day I mentioned to Adam, my husband, that I thought a barre studio would do well in College Park. He said, ‘OK, sure, probably,'” Filocco told the Hyattsville Wire. “About a month later, I said to him, ‘Here’s my business plan, I want to quit my job and open a studio in College Park. He was pretty taken aback!”

Filocco said she never thought about opening a studio anywhere but in College Park because she knew it would be close enough for students to drop in while also having a strong local community. So far, she’s been proven right, with classes about evenly mixed between students and locals — though she points out that a growing number of locals are former students like herself.

“College Park is a unique town, and we’ve had a great time building relationships between our clients,” she said. “It’s fun to have everyone in a class get to know people they wouldn’t otherwise meet, and it’s a great place for young professionals.”

As both the university and the town seek to expand that population of young professionals, alumni like Filocco are proving to be a major resource, whether it’s building a new food hall and music venue, expanding an organic grocery store or just moving into high-end apartments aimed at young professionals.