From Internship to Career
Edited by Emily Pritchard
Hannah Leonard is a Business Marketing Major who interned at OULA Fitness as a summer
internship. This experience was not only a wonderful and educational way to spend the Summer, it
also had a surprising ending. “This experience has opened up the door for me to be the first official
OULA employee and as this company grows I hope to grow with it and maybe turn it into a career.”
How was your internship overall? What were some of your tasks?
“My experience at OULA was incredible. I met so many great people and had life changing
experiences not only academically but personally. OULA really is magic and can change your life.
Day to day I would complete jobs that were assigned for the week, anything from organizing files to
creating sellable playlists using affiliate websites and updating OULA’s WordPress website to
maintaining merchandise inventories and checking in clients for classes. I worked within the
community to drive OULA’s community outreach to non-profits and community events.”
How did you get connected with this
opportunity?
“I went to Kathleen Tarkalson to see
which internship options were
available to me. She gave me a few
options and I chose to apply to them
and got an interview at OULA.”
Why did you decide on this internship?
“I took on this internship because I
have always had a love for dance and
fitness and had played with the idea of
maybe opening up my own fitness
studio one day. So learning the ins and
outs of small business in the area
where I was considering opening a
business seemed to be a perfect fit.”
Hannah Leonard in OULA swag
What was the most rewarding part of this experience?
“The most rewarding part of this experience was feeling like I was part of the OULA family which is
so big and filled with tons of love and support. Being a part of a program that helps so many people
is incredibly rewarding in itself.”
Did anything stick out as your favorite part?
“My favorite part of the internship was getting the job offer from Kali. I was hoping to stay and help
at OULA but wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to as the internship came to an end. It was both
surprising and exciting when Kalie offered me a position created specifically for me in order to keep
me in the OULA family.”
How has your participation in this experience impacted your life as a student and as a person in
general?
“By participating in this experience I have learned to use many different platforms like WordPress,
mindbody, and Mailchimp and also improved my knowledge with Excel which I find extremely
helpful. As a person it has impacted me in my relations with girls who I do not normally connect
with and now I have new friends that I will hopefully have for life!”
Were there any challenges you had to overcome during the internship?
“My biggest challenge was probably to first get over dancing in front of strangers, especially a room
full of women. It is fairly painless once you get into the groove of dancing, and no one judges you.
How many times can you be in a room full of women and not feel judged? Never! Except at OULA. I
also had the challenge of remembering clients’ names which is normally hard for me but I believe I
have the regulars down!”
What advice would you give other students considering opportunities like this?
“I would say to take the opportunity and give it your all. In the end if you are yourself and you work
hard, you will end up with a lot more than you expected out of the experience both on an academic
level and on a personal level.”
Describe your internship in one sentence.
“This experience was magical, sweaty, rewarding and incredibly fun.”
UM intern Hannah Leonard (Far Right) with fellow OULA Fitness staff