Hey there, I’m Meha Sadana! After finishing my freshman year at the University of Connecticut, it took me a while to decide how to spend the upcoming summer. After a long year away from home, I decided I would only do a summer internship if it was affiliated with something I absolutely love: Bollywood. BollyX was the first internship that came up when I searched “Bollywood internships” and I had no clue that clicking the link would change my entire summer.

Though it’s only been a short four weeks with BollyX, I already know that my journey will not end here. This summer has been a blast, not only because of the work I’ve been doing, but also because of the company I am surrounded by: Clara, Meredith, Anumita, and Minal. Clara was the first to greet me with palpable enthusiasm. It takes a special kind of person to make worries melt after the first hello. She told us about all the exciting work we’d be doing this summer, and I immediately knew there wouldn’t be a dull moment ahead of me. I met Meredith later in the week and she seemed rather quiet at first. My first impression was proven wrong by her outburst of excitement: two clenched fists thrusted up in the air and her head tilted back like an Olympian who won a gold medal. The energy Meredith has when she schedules a new instructor training is infectious. Anumita has essentially been my sidekick throughout this entire summer. Working with her has made every job that much more fun. We constantly bounce ideas off of each other and come up with efficient ways to do the tasks assigned to us. It’s wonderful how with every job we do, our personal strengths show through. Last but certainly not least, Minal has been a great role model throughout this whole process. She persistently made an effort to learn about me and Anumita, and not even a couple hours in, offered valuable advice about our future endeavors. I’ve seen her handle hurdle after hurdle with grace and a touch of sass. She is significantly more thoughtful than most when choosing her words, as she will often read a prospective tweet or facebook post and tell us one or two words to alter that will give a whole new meaning. She doesn’t want to just present the brand to people, but truly include people and make each person an active participant. This is something I have come to admire.

I walked into the internship thinking the company was just Bollywood fitness. I assumed I would be told what to do and be expected to complete the set task; however, I now realize that this internship has offered me so much more. BollyX encourages people to be confident, positive, and to “embrace their inner rockstar.” In this day and age, we need companies to exude these values to the public. This company has managed to instill those values in me every day, inside and outside of the studio classes. I am not told what to do, but I am told to create. I am constantly given actual projects that involve thoughtful and careful decision making, whether it be choreographing pieces or creating a college ambassador program that is expected to be up and running this Fall. I feel so blessed to be interning at a startup because every obstacle we overcome as a team is so much more significant. I realized that even has an intern, I am truly helping the company progress, and that is something I am incredibly proud of.