Previous to starting her undergraduate career at Stanford, Riya graduated as Summa Cum Laude from Milpitas High School in Milpitas, CA. She also received an academic presidential award. In high school, Riya worked as a research assistant at OrthoRegen institution in Brazil along with playing squash at an international level. Her athletic interest is initially what led her to pursue pain management and now she plans to continue this research in the Anderson Lab.