Alumni Highlight: Maelyn Hurley
This month, The Argus had the opportunity to sit down and catch up with alumni extraordinaire, Maelyn Hurley. Hurley is a graduate of the HBKin program and she also has her Masters degree in Kinesiology and Gerontology from Lakehead. Going into university, it was clear to Hurley that she had a vested interest in healthcare stemming from her background (everyone in her family works in healthcare), and she also spent a lot of time volunteering at the cancer clinic. Post-graduation Hurley intended on becoming a doctor, but that ultimately did not pan out as anticipated–and so, she pivoted.
In conversation with Hurley, it is clear that while her path post-graduation was not necessarily the trajectory that you would anticipate for someone with her qualifications, yet she is a testament to taking a leap of faith and a success story of someone who ventured into a realm that they did not initially consider for their career path.
Woodside Bar, located in Goods&Co Market.
Image by Patrick Chondon.
I met Hurley in her phenomenal urban market, Goods & Co. As we sat down for this interview on a late Wednesday morning, people began to trickle in to the bar area: catching up for coffee with friends, grabbing mimosas for brunch and even babies having playdates on the couch as their parents socialize. It is a welcoming and inviting atmosphere that has been perfectly curated and executed by Hurley and a true gem in Thunder Bay.
On her time at Lakehead:
TA: What was your favourite part of your experience at Lakehead?
MH: “ I really enjoyed my time at Lakehead. I’ve always been a person who liked academics and I loved the atmosphere of being at the university and meeting new people in my program. I made a lot of lifetime friends there. Getting to have study groups and work in the library or meeting up for a drink at the Outpost with some buddies after an exam are some of the memories I cherish. It was a really busy time in my life and a lot of hard work but also a lot of fun!”
TA: Who are some of your most memorable professors and mentors?
MH: “ I always really enjoyed Donna Newhouse’s anatomy classes, she is an exceptional professor and it was one of my favourite classes! That was where my interest in medicine sparked because I understood how the human body works. Another person would be Tracey Laroque, she taught a nutrition class that was another interesting subject to me. During my masters, I worked closely with Dr. Joey Farrell who was my thesis advisor and post graduation I was a research assistant and worked with Dr. Erin Pearson and they were both definitely role models for me. There are numerous other individuals but these four specifically stand out during my time in university.”
TA: Best study spot on the Thunder Bay Campus?
MH: “ I mean the library is coming to mind, but I also used to love the fifth floor of the ATAC building. It has a great view of the Sleeping Giant and it was pretty quiet most of the time.”
Maelyn Hurley
Image sourced from Waterfront BIA Board of Directors
During her undergraduate degree, Hurley created the wildly popular Craft Revival. What started as a craft fair in her parents living room morphed into a community event that artisans and residents of the city look forward to every year.
“It was so small when we first started in 2014. It was a little side project, I had no idea what it was going to evolve into. I attribute all the events that I volunteered for in university that piqued my interest in event planning and helping with fundraising which tied into me starting my own event. I truly get fuelled by seeing other people’s happiness. The Craft Revival had all the feels and all the businesses were super grateful because it brought a lot of business downtown, local artisans were stoked because it was a platform to sell their work and it was the first big event of its kind in the city”
Following the completion of her Masters and not being accepted into medicine, Hurley took two months off to go solo backpacking in Central America to explore and figure out what she wanted to do.
“I was in a relationship with my current partner who had just opened and was running the Foundry and was feeling tied to Thunder Bay, I didn’t want to pursue medicine outside of the city. My rejection from med school forced me to think about what I wanted and change my direction.”
Upon returning to Thunder Bay, Hurley felt open to new opportunities and accepted a position as the events manager at the Chanterelle on Park primarily acting as the wedding coordinator. She also joined the Waterfront BIA Board, serving as a member of the board for the past seven years. The connections that she made in this role set the foundation for Hurley to open and run the newest addition to the downtown core and the first market of its kind, Goods & Co.
“ I remember one Craft Revival, I was standing with Beth DeProphetis [owner of the Loop and Lakehead alumni] at the Loop and she mentioned I should open a market in the old Eaton’s building that is located directly across the street from her store.”
While Hurley did think this would be a great idea, the building had a previous owner who did not live in town and it was hard to get a hold of him, so it seemed like a non-starter.
Then, serendipitously an opportunity arose to use the space in the building.
“I was at Tomlin for dinner and the now-owner of the Eaton’s building came into Tomlin and said that he was going to buy the building. I knew him through my time at the Chanterelle because I did both of his sister’s weddings. That night as we were talking about his purchase, he told me that I should open a market in the building.”
This random encounter led to Hurley ultimately opening and running the stunning Goods & Co. which is an urban market complete with a gallery space, pop up shops, variety of artisans and even a fabulous bar, Woodside (which arguably has the best mimosas in the city!)
“Whenever I travel the first place I check out is the market to understand the city better, eat local food and I am all about that. I realized that we did not have this in Thunder Bay and it would make a great addition to our downtown core. I wanted to strike a balance between retail and food”, says Hurley.
When asked about what her best advice was for Lakehead students, Hurley mentions: “I think it's important to trust the process. I tried not to dwell on failures or when things didn't go as planned and I think that’s a big part of it. There is a bit of a flow that you have to go with and it's hard to not get fixated on a chosen path when you are doing a degree and working so hard towards it. There is definitely disappointment when it does not pan out the way that you want it to. I think that’s something that you have to go through to land on your true purpose and path. You need to experience those tougher times to get where you need to go. They expect you to know what you want with your life in highschool and you choose something that you think is what you want but you don’t really know because you haven’t had much life experience at that point. It’s normal to have what you think you want to not actually be the right fit. It’s about being compassionate with yourself and understanding that it’s okay if things change and keep moving forward and being open to new opportunities that come your way. Ask good questions, talk to people and if something sparks your interest, explore it a little bit further because you never know what is going to happen.”
Goods&Co. Market.
Image by Patrick Chondon.
On behalf of the Argus, we would like to thank Maelyn for all the work that she is doing in the community and for her contributions to this article. You can find Goods & Co. at 251 Red River Rd Suite #3, Thunder Bay, ON or online on Instagram and Meta @goodscomarket.