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   VaLanDria Smith-Lash is the founder and CEO of Coarse Culture and lover of self-care. She is a vastly ambitious, caring individual who is dedicated to forming a "Take Care" community.

   VaLanDria leads her company as a full-time student   studying speech pathology and audiology with a minor in dance at Miami University. Throughout her collegiate career, VaLanDria executed values of leadership, excellence, poise and ambition as an Evans Scholar, Bridges Scholar and four time runway and print model for Miami University Fashion and Design.​

Meet VaLanDria

Her story of pursuing her company has been featured  in WKRC’s Local 12 news,The Citizen’s Newspaper Group, The Miami Student Newspaper and WRA Alumni Magazine. VaLanDria was also recognized nationally as an esteemed young entrepreneur in EBONY Magazine. This past spring, VaLanDria made history as the first student to headquarter a business at Miami University’s new Lee and Rosemary Innovation Center for Entrepreneurship. Her products are sold nationwide on Amazon as Coarse Culture is a member of their Black Business Accelerator program. 

In the future, VaLanDria plans to expand  her product line and transition into mass retail production with the earnings awarded in winning the Launch It:Cincy Pitch Competition. 

   As head of the company, she is determined to build a product line that improves the wellbeing of each and every customer. 

 Miami University Alumni Association and D. Ellis Rates '14, Associate Director, Intercultural Initiatives, as he chats VaLanDria about running a successful business, while also going to school full-time. We will talk about the birth of Coarse Culture and how it has grown to now be a product sold on Amazon.

An innovative program at Miami University is helping one young woman achieve her dream, by helping others who have a challenging disease that impacts the immune system: http://bit.ly/3ZDuVEj

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