Perfect Balance

When President Biden hosted the largest Diwali celebration in White House history, student Roshni Badlani was among the performers. Badlani, a fourth-year PharmD candidate at USC Mann, is part of the Sa Dance Company, which entertains while raising awareness of Indian culture.

Badlani and six fellow company members from Los Angeles, New York and Austin, Texas, shared their artistry to the delight of attendees. “Continuing this art form— alongside a group of women passionate about keeping dance in their lives—has been an incredible outlet throughout pharmacy school,” she adds.

Badlani, who is also a student ambassador for the school’s Margaret and John Biles Leadership Center, joined the Sa troupe after earning her undergraduate degree in global health from USC in 2017.

“But we’ve been training all our lives,” she says of their shared dedication to dance. She balances her commitment to performance not just with her studies but also with experience that includes a pharmacy internship with Keck Medicine of USC and work at Cedars-Sinai.

FOR THIS PHARMD STUDENT, HER LOVE OF DANCE HELPS HER MAINTAIN A WELLROUNDED LIFE.

Badlani appreciates the Mann School’s commitment to helping students maintain well-rounded lives. Her alumni mentors and preceptors all impressed her by maintaining interests beyond the field of pharmacy— from baking to hairstyling. “I could see that maintaining outside passions gives them the energy to excel in the profession,” she says.

“It’s important to keep dance in my life,” Badlani says. “It’s about realignment and will help me be a better pharmacist. Dance gives me the energy to do my best work.”

Badlani, second from right