New Pathways Bridgewater Scholars

Jizal grew up between Atlanta, Georgia and Nazareth. She is now a senior at Barnard majoring in Economics and Psychology and is a proud Girls Who Invest Alumna. Jizal has been an Investment Intern at the MacArthur Foundation and most recently at Commonfund OCIO where she will return post-graduation! During the academic year, she performs research related to behavioral economics with Professor Homa Zarghamee, serves as BlackGen Capital president, works as a personal trainer, and is involved with activism on campus.

Camila is a senior at Barnard College, majoring in Economics with a minor in Psychology. She was born and raised in Venezuela before moving to Miami for high school. After interning at Blackstone's Private Wealth Group this summer, she will join the firm full-time after graduation. During the school year, she conducts research with Prof. Benshaul-Tolonen, exploring the intersection of gender and development economics. Outside of academics, Camila enjoys exercising, cooking, and traveling.

Michelle is originally from Los Angeles, California majoring in computer science with a minor in Environmental Humanities. She's interested in cybersecurity as well as the intersection between technology and sustainability. Last summer, she did research at NYU Tandon Center for Cybersecurity under Chris Geeng and Damon McCoy with the inaugural NYC Cyber REU with a focus on Location Sharing Behavior. During the school year, Michelle does sustainability research with Danny Bressler on the Mortality and Social Cost of Carbon. In her free time, she enjoys going to musicals and trying new restaurants in the city with friends!

Tobechi Onwuka is a junior at Barnard College majoring in computer science. She is interested in technology and education as well as how the two topics intersect. For the past two summers, she has interned at Amazon as a software engineer. However, she aims explore other roles in the tech field for her to weave in her love for educational technology.

Syna Sachdeva is a junior at Barnard College majoring in Computer Science with a concentration in intelligent systems and computer vision. She is fortunate to work under Mr. Teal Witter at NYU Tandon School of Engineering on how Machine learning and Deep learning can help solve problems with social impact. She is also passionate about accessible Arts and STEM education, and she is a part of the Meet Me at the Museum Club which empowers students to interact with museums that often feel intimidating and exclusionary.

Reda is a bay area native from San Jose, California with a strong interest in the intersection of tech and finance. She is a senior studying Economics and Mathematics. This past summer she interned at KPMG in the Economic Valuation Services department. She has worked with Professor Anja Benshaul-Tolonen of the economics department for two years, investigating the economic impacts of the mining industry in Zambia. In her time at Barnard she has served as president of the Columbia Women's Association of Venture and Equity. She is also an Access Barnard peer mentor, supporting first-gen and low-income students, and a student admissions representative. Beyond her academic and professional interests she enjoys playing tennis, fine art, and traveling!

Carly is currently a junior at Barnard majoring in economics. For the past 2 years, Carly has worked as a research analyst at Textbook Ventures where she assisted Jeremy Kagan in developing the first Startup Accelerator Guide for Founders in NYC. Her interest in entrepreneurship and venture capitalism came from an incubator class she took in high school where she won first place for creating the most viable business model. Through the Bridgewater Scholars Program, Carly also gained exposure to other fields, such as finance and marketing. She will be interning at J.P. Morgan Chase during the summer of 2025 as a Middle Market Banking & Specialized Industries analyst in New York City.

Born and raised in China, Yuqi is a senior majoring in economics-mathematics and minoring in philosophy. She is very grateful to be working with Professor Rajiv Sethi on Evaluating Prediction Mechanism this past year. When she is not being a TA for Econometrics or doing any Research Assistant work on microeconomics, you can probably catch her trying to snag cheap tickets at the theater district. Yuqi will be working as a Research Analyst for The Brattle Group's METRICS practice in Washington D.C. next year. She hopes to pursue graduate studies in the future and continue reading and traveling a lot.

Alexia is an economics major at Barnard College. Born and raised in NYC by Brazilian, immigrant parents, she is interested in researching the economic inequalities that exist in society and how to develop more equitable systems. Alexia hopes to enhance her skills in finance and pursue a career that fosters economic progress. She is a second-degree black belt in taekwondo and plays volleyball at Columbia in her spare time.

Sreya Nandanampati is a rising junior from Atlanta, Georgia majoring in Computer Science and Archaeological Anthropology. She is interested in how technology can be utilized to create equity and make social impact. She founded the Barnard/ Columbia campus chapter of the organization Encode Justice to spread awareness on the challenges of ethical AI, and she is currently working on a research project under Prof. Kathy McKeown to mitigate racial bias on large language models like GPT-3 and GPT-4. Furthermore on campus, she is involved with the business fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi and hopes to use her background in technology for a career in finance. Outside of work, she loves to bake, play the piano, and try new foods around the city!

Dorothy Zhang is a senior from Bellevue, Washington. Her research at the Columbia Computational Design Lab with Professor Lydia Chilton focuses on the role that LLMs can serve in promoting effective communication of complex scientific topics. She previously interned as a Software Engineer Intern at Samsara and as a Machine Learning Intern at the Port of Seattle. She is passionate about gender equality and diversity in the technology industry and hopes to pursue a career in which she can help drive change in this area. In her free time, she loves to run along Riverside Park and try new coffee shops in the city.

Anushka Kumar is a rising sophomore from Dallas, Texas intending to major in Economics & Statistics on the Computational Track. She is currently working in Professor Rajiv Sethi’s lab in projects regarding prediction markets, the history of deadly force by law enforcement in the United States, and developing interactive economics modules for students. On campus, she is part of the Columbia Organization of Rising Entrepreneurs. She is interested in exploring fields related to the intersection of data analytics and economics. In her free time, Anushka loves dancing with Columbia Bhangra, crocheting, and finding new cafes in the city. 

Ramya Subramanian is a Computer Science and Economics major from the Bay Area, California. She is interested in the intersection between finance and technology and hopes to pursue a career in fintech. Her research at the Data Science Institute at Columbia, under the guidance of Professor Wu, focuses on databases and creating a front-end interface framework. She plans to further explore her fintech interests through the Bridgewater Scholars Program. Ramya is also actively involved on campus in the Columbia Women in Computer Science club and the Application Development Initiative, helping to plan hackathons for the Columbia/Barnard community. In her free time, Ramya enjoys traveling and spending time with friends and family!

Aishwarya Thiyagarajan is a rising junior from the Bay Area, studying Computer Science with a minor in Statistics. In the future, she hopes to learn about the applications of artificial intelligence on human interaction and mobile development. On the social aspect, she also passionate about learning the gender biases within the tech industry. This summer, she is in Mountain View, California as a Google STEP Intern. During school, she is involved on the education committee of the Application Development Initiative at Columbia. During her free time, she loves to bake and trying new restaurants in the city.

Anna Hammell is from Long Island, New York double majoring in Computer Science and Economics. She is a member of Columbia Women in Computer Science club and actively participates in programs that support women in STEM fields, such as Girls Who Code and Goldman Sach's Engineering Possibilities Summits. In her spare time, she enjoys solving crosswords and crocheting.

Meaghan Jungels is a History and Mathematical Sciences double major from Chicago, Illinois, now based in Dublin, Ireland. As a Research Assistant for Columbia’s Mapping Historical New York: A Digital Atlas, Meaghan uses GIS, archival sources, and census data to investigate how migration, residential, and occupational patterns in the 19th and 20th centuries shaped the city’s development. Alongside exploring applications of quantitative methods in the social sciences, Meaghan is a Peer Health Educator at The Wellness Spot, where she develops educational programming and workshops to promote health and wellness in the Barnard community. A fan of Russian and Victorian literature, Meaghan is sure to like your updates on Goodreads when she isn’t too busy listening to The Ezra Klein Show.

Neasha Mittal is a Barnard College student from New Delhi, India, planning to major in Computer Science, and possibly minor in Economics. She is interested in exploring the intersection between finance and technology, more specifically, technology consulting. This summer she is working in the Accessible and Accelerated Robotics lab, A2R lab, under the guidance of Professor Brian Plancher. She strives to inspire more women to enter finance and STEM fields to encourage gender equality and diversity. In her free time, she enjoys biking around the city and trying out new cuisines.

Jessica Sun, a junior from Houston, Texas, is pursuing a dual major in Computer Science and Economics at Barnard College. Passionate about technology and finance, she aims to pursue a career in venture capital in the future. This past summer, she worked as a software engineer intern at the seed-stage startup CLIP Bike, while also working part-time as an equity research analyst at Wall Street Oasis. In her free time, Jessica volunteers to teach English to children at a Myanmar orphanage and enjoys exploring different restaurants in New York City (she is currently ranked in the top 6,000 on Beli!).

Suhani Sharma is a rising junior studying at Barnard College, double majoring in Economics and Political Science. Her passion for the intersectionality of these two academic interests carries over into her work and her aspirations for the future. She is a research assistant for Professor Sharon Harrison's Unintended Consequences Lab, taking a behavioural economics and econometrics-based look at the process by which key economic policymakers make decisions. She is also heavily involved with NY state politics, interning this summer with Eleanor's Legacy, an organisation committed to helping pro-choice Democratic women secure seats across the political structures of the Empire state. On campus, one can find her most easily in creative spaces — indulging her minor in Shakespearean Literature with the Shakespeare troupe on campus, helping run and facilitate space for student musicians or writing pieces about what goes on in her favourite sports. A strong advocate for equitable and sustainable economic policy, she is most interested in pursuing ESG and Federal Public Policy.

Mimansa Kant is a sophomore from the Bay Area, California, pursuing a double major in Computer Science and Economics. She is interested in technology and finance, with a particular focus on specialized areas such as cybersecurity and quantitative finance. She is currently working as a research assistant under Professor Corey Toler-Franklin. Her project involves developing a transformer model that utilizes deep learning techniques for diagnosing and treating neurological disorders. On campus, Mimansa is actively involved in promoting diversity in tech. She serves on the board of Girls Who Code and is a member of Columbia Women in Computer Science. Outside of her academic pursuits, she plays badminton for Columbia and in her free time, she enjoys exploring the diverse culinary scene in the city.

Sheza Sheikh is from Queens, New York, majoring in political science with a minor in economics on the pre-law track. She is deeply interested in the intersections between social justice, business, and law, aiming to become a corporate attorney who drives policy reform, promotes corporate responsibility, and creates opportunities for marginalized groups. On campus, Sheza is the secretary of Barnard Athena Mock Trial and a writer for Columbia Political Review where she explores and writes about critical issues at the intersection of politics, law, and social justice. Outside of work, she loves Bollywood dancing, doing henna designs on her friends, and trying out new restaurants!

Wendy Liu is a sophomore studying economics and mathematics with an intended minor in computer science. Originally from Hebei, China, she is passionate about analyzing economic development patterns using data and mathematical models. With a keen interest in market economics, she has been working on research involving testing the predictive accuracy through prediction markets, under the guidance of Professor Rajiv Sethi. She aims to pursue graduate studies in areas related to development economics, market economics, and macroeconomics, with a focus on applying mathematical technologies to economic analysis. Outside academics, she writes for the Columbia Economics Review and serves on the E-board of Columbia Blue Glaze Theatre. She enjoys theater, traveling, and reading in her free time.

Ashley Hudson is a first year at Barnard College, double majoring in economics and music, with a minor in theatre from Teaneck, New Jersey. Interested in bridging the gap between the arts and STEM, Ashley hopes to explore the intersectionality between music, music production, and theater with the science of economics and fiscal responsibility. Additionally, she will be researching with Professor Zarghamee through Bridgewater this summer, looking forward to understanding the key connection that behavioral economics has to offer to the broader field of the discipline. On campus, she can be found as a member of Columbia’s Black Student Organization, as well as an editor fellow for the Columbia University Fashion Society. To add, Ashley is an avid attendee of Columbia University Democrats, as well as the Barnard-Columbia Chorus & Chamber Choir. In Ashley’s free time, she enjoys singing professionally, and is often somewhere reading. With a focused stance on intersectionality in the realm of economics, Ashley anticipates helping more women into the profession, as well as learning from the women before her.

Sachi Patel is a current first year from the Bay Area, California intending to major in computer science and economics. She is interested in pursuing a career in software engineering and working at the intersection of technology and finance. She is currently working as a research assistant for the Rajiv Sethi Lab, where she is helping develop an open-access, interactive web platform for students to learn economics. This summer, she’ll be joining Columbia’s Spoken Language Processing Group to explore her interests in Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning. On campus, Sachi is an event coordinator for Women in Computer Science, an operational committee member of the Multicultural Business Association, and DJs for events hosted by student organizations.

Sarya is an economics and mathematics major at Barnard College. Having grown up in Lebanon, she is presently based in Dubai, UAE. Her academic pursuits are matched by active involvement in campus activities, serving as an analyst for the student-run investment fund, Morningside Investments, and in the Sustainable Finance Group's portfolio management team. Sarya's professional interests lie at the intersection of artificial intelligence and market prediction. In the future, she hopes to pursue a career in finance. Beyond her academic and professional engagements, she enjoys art history, fitness, and cooking.

Sahara, from Newark, New Jersey, is an intended economics major with a concentration in political economy. She is interested in investment banking and hopes to enter a career in which she can create solutions to economic inequality. Through the Bridgewater Scholars Program at Barnard, she looks forward to exploring multiple fields like finance and marketing. In her free time, she loves spending time with her friends and family and watching football matches.

Jasmine Bose Partridge is a senior at Barnard College studying Economics. Last year, with the support of Bridgewater, she worked as a research assistant under Professor Archibong. For the past two summers, she has worked at Morgan Stanley in the Institutional Equity Division, where she will return full-time to work in Equity Derivative Sales. On campus, she is also the president of the Columbia Fashion Society. Outside of school, she enjoys traveling, spending time with her family, and cooking.