FOR years, her dream of studying at one of the world’s most selective universities felt out of reach for Rishika Suntharam (pic).
That changed when the student from Nilai, Negri Sembilan, recently became the only Malaysian accepted into an undergraduate programme at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in the United States for the Class of 2030.
The 19-year-old, who is set to graduate from her A-Level studies at Kolej Yayasan UEM in Selangor this month, will begin her studies in the US in September.
Describing the milestone as a turning point, Rishika, a Shell Malaysia scholar, said it reshaped her perspective on the power of trying.
In her university applications, she not only secured a spot at Caltech, but also received offers from other prestigious institutions in the US, including the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Colorado School of Mines.
“I feel humbled more than anything.
“I never thought someone like me – from a minority background in Malaysia – could study in the US until I got a scholarship,” she told StarEdu.
At Caltech, Rishika plans to major in information and data science with applied and computational mathematics.
Her passion for the field began early, sparked by a fascination with the natural world.
“As a child, I was obsessed with how perfect the spirals in the Milky Way looked,” she said.
That curiosity evolved into a deeper interest in mathematical patterns and geometry, eventually leading her into machine learning research.
Together with her research mentor Zad Chin, she represented Malaysia as a presenter at the 5th International Conference on Mathematical and Scientific Machine Learning in Naples, Italy, last year.
Beyond academics, Rishika has been actively working to uplift other girls in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
She co-founded Girls In Numbers, a non-profit initiative aimed at empowering Malaysian girls in mathematics through free webinars and outreach programmes in girls’ schools, reaching over 1,200 girls across Malaysia since its inception in 2024.
Her achievements extend further, including participation in international mathematics competitions and hackathons.
She placed in the top three at the Stanford iGEM Global BioHacks competition in 2024 and developed a scam detection software at the Harvard-Duke AI Global Ivy Hackathon in 2025.
Rishika believes Malaysian students are just as capable as their global peers but often lack exposure to what top universities are really looking for.
“In Malaysia, the system tends to place a very heavy emphasis on academic performance, especially Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) exam results.
“However, universities in the US look beyond grades. They want to know your story, your extracurriculars and what you have done beyond the classroom,” she said.
Rishika, who herself scored 10A+ in the SPM, called on more Malaysian students to take that leap and challenge themselves beyond academics.
“We have so much to offer the world, and so much potential that’s still waiting to be seen,” she said.
On her future aspirations, Rishika plans to fulfil her bond with Shell Malaysia after graduation, while continuing her mission to build more inclusive spaces for women in mathematics.
“I hope to expand Girls in Numbers beyond Malaysia through regional conferences, leveraging Caltech’s global alumni network.
“The goal is to support STEM communities, partnering with UN Women, Unesco and regional non-governmental organisations to grow this movement across South-East Asia,” she said.
