Hiya I’m Lauryn Bodde, and I am very excited to be joining the team at EPICentre as the Campus and Community Events Coordinator. I completed my bachelor’s degree here at the University of Windsor in Business Administration and CO-OP Education.
As of recently, I’ve returned to the Windsor/Essex community after living in Ireland for the past two and a half years on a Working/Holiday Visa. I have always been fascinated by the entrepreneurial spirit and ability to turn an idea into creation. My biggest lesson yet is that if you exit your comfort zone, you find out what you are made of and allow for incredible amounts of growth. Solo traveling taught me this lesson and I believe the same applies to unexplored territory in the journey of an entrepreneur. I did write a few stories while away of various places I visited, check it out at www.boddeontheroady.com.
After completing my bachelor’s degree, I worked in Michigan for four years at an experiential marketing agency called MRA Mobile Experiential. While working there, they also opened a Canadian branch right here in Windsor. I was fortunate to work with a fabulous team in developing traveling roadshow event experiences across North America. If you’ve previously planned events, you must be aware that there are many moving pieces. The events I worked on and planned logistics for were actually moving, so even more pieces to consider.
During my time in Ireland, I worked and lived above a pub for my first six months (Hamilton’s Bar-Leenane Village in Galway), continued to work for a delicious pizza restaurant (Westport Woodfire-Westport in County Mayo), and worked in a holistic and natural and essential oil shop (Irish Apothecary-Westport in County Mayo). I am often asked if I had Irish roots or connections prior to picking up and moving there. My answer is always, I didn’t before I left, but I do now. I am beyond blessed and thankful for the wonderful connections I made and still have that I consider part of my family.
Finally, I had the opportunity while in Ireland and during the lockdown period to launch a little start-up business in the small West coast town I was living called Westport in County Mayo. The business was called Westport char – CUTE – rie (can be found on Instagram or Facebook as Westport Charcuterie). Myself and a co-founder offered charcuterie spreads in boxes for takeaway. We had three variations of boxes which we named the classic mood, the romantic mood, and the leafy mood. Each box was made with love and intention and all biodegradable materials. We also did feature boxes for holidays throughout the year, Mother’s day being our busiest. Between November 2020 and September 2021, we made a total of 369 boxes offered both directly to the customer and sold in a local deli shop in the town. This was an incredible experience, especially in a time where colour and inspiration were much needed in all our lives!
I am very fortunate to be contributing to the EPICentre team, and I really look forward to learning from my colleagues and members of the business and entrepreneurship community.
To end off, a fun fact about me: I am absolutely addicted to hats! Many who are close to me know that I own some pretty wacko-looking hats and I truly love each one of them.
–Lauryn