Hobbies and interests
Comedy
Research
Public Policy
Linguistics
Theology and Religious Studies
Spanish
Latin Dance
Reading
History
Cultural
Humor
Religion
Politics
Social Science
I read books daily
Ritu Belani
1,295
Bold Points2x
Finalist1x
WinnerRitu Belani
1,295
Bold Points2x
Finalist1x
WinnerBio
Hi! I'm a Stanford student double majoring in Chicano/Latino Studies and Symbolic Systems (a quirky Stanford interdisciplinary mix of computer science, linguistics, and psychology). I'm also interested in Islamic Studies and public policy. In addition to my day job, being a student, I'm also a stand-up comedian (my YouTube/Instagram is @Ritu Does Comedy!) I'm returning from a headliner comedy tour in Cupertino, Seattle, and Barcelona. Maybe you'll see me on Netflix soon :)
In my future career, I'd like to bring together my track record for publishing research, effecting policy change, and advocating for justice. Scholarships will help me fund my education and pursue my dreams of becoming a community-engaged scholar.
Fun fact: I'm fluent in English, Spanish, and Costco. (Also currently learning Arabic!) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritu-belani/
Education
Stanford University
Bachelor's degree programMajors:
- Computer Science
- Linguistics and Computer Science
- Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender, and Group Studies, Other
- Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other
Minors:
- Middle/Near Eastern and Semitic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General
- International Relations and National Security Studies
- Religion/Religious Studies
Career
Dream career field:
Technology
Dream career goals:
Become a community-engaged scholar: using research, technology, policy, and comedy to bridge divides and address inequality
Sports
Basketball
Varsity2020 – 2020
Awards
- Unofficial Benchwarmer
Research
Digital Humanities and Textual Studies
Stanford Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis — Researching depictions of Black people in classical art: "What does an Aethiopian look like?: A Digital Catalogue of Black Africans in Ancient Art Collections" — Research Intern2025 – PresentPublic Health
Big Data 4 Health Equity Lab at University of Maryland — Data analyst, published in Int. Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2023, paper entitled: "Examining exposure to messaging, content, and hate speech from partisan news social media posts on racial and ethnic health disparities"2021 – 2023Linguistics and Computer Science
UC Santa Cruz — First Author, published in the Association for Computational Linguistics, paper entitled: "Automatic Identification of Code-Switching Functions in Speech Transcripts"2021 – 2023Religion/Religious Studies
John Near Scholar — First Author, published 40 page paper entitled: "Holy and Hilarious: Humor in Islam and Contemporary American Muslim Comedy"2023 – 2024
Arts
Founder and President At the Intersection Open Mic Series
Performance ArtSee more events on our YouTube @AtTheIntersectionSeries, Hahahalal, My Beliefs, Your Beliefs, Our Beliefs, My Multilingual Selves, Towards Educational Equity, Who Wasn't Invited to Thanksgiving?2022 – PresentFounder and President of Stanford Stand-up , D Club
Performance Art2025 – PresentRitu Does Comedy
Performance ArtHeadliner Show: Stanford Bound: Surviving the College Applications Chaos with Humor, Performed in International Comedy Clubs, ¡Comedia en Español!, Check out more @RituDoesComedy on YouTube/Instagram2021 – PresentBallet Folclórico de Stanford
DanceDía de Muertos Mexican Folk Dance Showcase2024 – Present
Public services
Volunteering
Muslim Tech Collaborative — VP of Community2024 – PresentVolunteering
La Asociación Latino Musulmana de América (Latino Muslim Association of America) — Student Liason2022 – PresentAdvocacy
Sunnyvale Youth Public Policy Institute — President2021 – 2024