When she enrolled in the master’s degree program through the Data Science Institute (DSI) at Columbia University, Ridhi Kapoor dreamed of one day walking triumphantly down the aisle and onto the stage to retrieve her diploma. In that dream, as graduation caps sailed into the air, she’d dissolve into tears as she fell into the collective arms of her parents, family, and friends.

“My friends used to teasingly say I enrolled in the master’s program just so that I could one day wear the cap and gown,” Kapoor said. “They knew I love graduations.”

As it turned out, the 2020 DSI graduation ceremony was held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic. The ceremony did, however, include a surprise that caused Kapoor to tear up. When it came time for student awards, DSI’s Eleni Drinea announced the winner of the Patricia Culligan Academic Achievement Award, given to the graduate with the highest GPA. 

“I’m delighted to announce that the recipient of the award is Ridhi Kapoor,” said Drinea, who is director of the master’s in data science program. “Ridhi is one of the most amazing students and she’s a wonderful and multi-talented individual.”

Kapoor has also always been, to use Drinea’s words, an “amazing student.” She grew up in India and later was accepted at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi. The institute is filled with bright students, but Kapoor won the Director’s Gold Medal, the highest honor bestowed upon a graduating senior for all-around performance. She also held two prestigious scholarships and in her second year at IIT did an internship at New York University, and later an exchange program at the University of Waterloo, Canada. Kapoor also loves music—she sings and plays the guitar and ukulele—and co-directed a student performance of the Eastern Group Song during her fourth year. The group performed the song at Rendezvous, an annual festival, and for the first time in the institute’s history won first prize.

After she graduated, Kapoor worked at Deutsche Bank for a year and developed financial models for non-performing loan portfolios. In 2017, she started the job she has now—data scientist on Bloomberg’s BVAL Quant team. Her team creates algorithms that price fixed income securities, or bonds. The team uses a mix of statistical modeling, machine learning, and operations research to price more than 2.5 million bonds several times a day. She completed her master’s degree while working full-time at Bloomberg.

Outside of work, Kapoor still loves music. During the lockdown she has been jamming virtually with friends, one of whom, Akshat Mittal, is also a DSI alumnus. The pair recently recorded a cover version of “The Show” by Lenka. In the split-screen video, Kapoor plays ukulele and sings while Mittal plays keys. The two were best friends at DSI, along with Ashwin Jayaraman, who also won the Patricia Culligan award along with Kapoor. His and Kapoor’s GPAs were comparably stratospheric—both had multiple A-pluses.  

Kapoor is grateful for the opportunities offered to her at IIT and Columbia and credits her parents and brother, Sayash, for their support. The first thing Kapoor did upon learning she would be getting the Culligan award was to call her parents in India. Her father picked up, and she said, “‘Papa, I want to share this with you both together. Where is mamma?’ He brought her to the phone, and as soon as I told them, they simultaneously shouted ‘Yayyyy!’ in the loudest volumes I’ve ever heard from them. And mamma had tears in her eyes. I owe it all to them, actually. They are the best parents in the universe.”

— Robert Florida