Ask Mahee Kulkarni why it’s important for women to have a presence in business and she perks up.
“If I begin to talk about it, I wouldn’t be able to stop,” the graduate student at the Daniels College of Business said. Kulkarni is enrolled in both the full-time Denver MBA and Business Information and Analytics programs at Daniels.
“We talk about feminism and equality like everything is OK right now, but I’ve been in situations where I’ve struggled to put my own voice out. If something that I am saying is said by a guy, it will be heard a little more,” Kulkarni said, sharing her frustration. “I think it’s so important to women to have their voice and to be heard and to be empowered.”
It’s one of the reasons why Kulkarni is president of the Women in Business club, a student organization that focuses on empowering female-identifying students and allies for success in business through community, mentorship, skill-building and networking with role models and professionals. After attending a 2024 event put on by the group where she was drawn to the “great networking, great panel discussion and great insights,” she immediately asked to be more involved. She was elected president in fall 2025.
Another way Kulkarni showcases her voice is as a content creator. She’s a rising Instagram influencer (@maheekulkarni) with more than 90,000 followers. Her content—predominately in her native Marathi language—blends lifestyle, travel experiences, daily snapshots and creative short videos, often reflecting her personality and humor.
“I like that I get to do that on my own time and space,” she said. “I had a theater background. When I was in India, I had acted in plays and supported my dad when he wrote plays. My entire side of my dad’s family is into theater and films, so I had an inclination toward that side of creativity.”
Her experience with social media has also given her firsthand experience with brand deals and marketing, which is helpful to her career aspirations—she hopes to work in the media and entertainment industry, focusing on analytics, consumer insights and marketing, after she graduates in June. “It’s all tied together,” she said of content creation and business.
But her favorite part about being a content creator, she said, is much simpler. “My favorite part is that I get to express myself so much, and it’s very free. There’s this actor in me that was hidden somewhere,” she said.
It’s also a way for her to stay connected to home and her family far away. Kulkarni came to Denver from Pune, India. “I always wanted to study abroad,” said Kulkarni, who got her BBA in marketing from the Alliance School of Business in Bangalore, India.
“I was researching different MBA programs, and I was looking at programs that could give me experience while also giving me knowledge. When I came across Daniels’ challenge curriculum–where I get to work with companies every quarter and get real experience—it really caught my eye.”
She loves the program’s emphasis on experiential learning, including real-world projects and its integration with Denver’s business community. But just as important has been a close community at Daniels and DU in general, she said.
That has been a help not only in her professional aspirations—her MBA cohort has helped with her Instagram videos, and someone from DU is always there if she needs a contact for a company, she said—but also making her feel at home. For instance, she goes to a North Indian dance class at DU. “I get to experience the dance form that I experience back home,” she said.
“The DU community has been very, very helpful to me and it makes me feel connected.”