Introducing the Summer '25 Undergraduate Research Interns

The Center for Spatial and Textual and Analysis (CESTA) is pleased to welcome the summer 2025 Undergraduate Interns, a community of digital humanities researchers.

CESTA runs undergraduate research internship programs in the winter, spring, and summer quarters. Undergraduate interns contribute to faculty projects while acquiring new skills that are consolidated in workshops and activities designed for the internship program. They continue to advance digital humanities research and creating a unique community of researchers at Wallenberg Hall. You can read below about our current cohort of interns and their work. This summer, we are welcoming 17 undergraduate interns  working on 14 digital humanities research projects. The program is supported by two graduate mentors: PhD students JJ Lugardo (Classics) and Linda Pucurimay (Materials Science and Engineering).

CESTA is grateful to the many campus partners who support our research and programs, including colleagues at Stanford University Libraries and the Stanford Humanities Center. The Undergraduate Research Internship program receives generous support from a VPUE Departmental Grant. Some projects and interns at CESTA are also supported by Changing Human Experience Grants, departmental funds, and faculty research funds.
 

Intern	Bio	Project
Stuti Desai	Stuti Desai is a rising sophomore interested in data science, educational equity, and EdTech. They hope to find a major soon. When they're not daydreaming, you can find them getting lost on long runs or reading feminist literature.	Visible Bodies
Lehlohonolo (Hloni) Ebenezer Mapetla	Hloni is a junior at Stanford from Lesotho, who is interested in mathematics, computer science and philosophy. In his free time, he enjoys reading in these areas.	Early Cape Travelers
Ameera Ramadan Eshtewi	Ameera Eshtewi is a junior majoring in biomedical computation with interests at the intersection of computer science, neuroscience, and the humanities. This summer, she is using GIS and digital tools to analyze and visualize the geographical landscape of the ninth-century Book of Governors. In her free time, she enjoys writing poetry, practicing Arabic calligraphy, and going on long runs.	Mapping the Medieval "Book of Governors"
David Eduardo Espinoza Sanchez	Eduardo [Lalo] is a senior from Coxcatlán, Puebla, Mexico, majoring in international relations with minors in French and Data Science. He currently serves as president of the Stanford Society for Latin American Politics (SSLAP), where he fosters dialogue and collaboration on regional issues. Deeply committed to the intersection of technology and the humanities for social change, Lalo is passionate about using innovative approaches to address complex global challenges.  Beyond academics, he is an avid artist, exploring digital and film photography, dance, sculpture, and fashion design. He also loves learning new languages, cooking global dishes, and baking, always seeking creative ways to connect with diverse cultures and communities.	Senegalese Slave Liberations Project
Dora Gan	Dora is from Hong Kong and interested in the intersection of humanities and technology. She loves film photography and plans to major in data science. She also hopes to try all of the coffee shops near Palo Alto. This summer, she is working with Professor Blessing on the Reimagining Royal Space project.	Reimagining Royal Space: The Qilij Arslan II Kiosk in Konya as a Case Study for the Digital Reconstruction of Islamic Architecture
Will Gibbs	Will Gibbs (he/him) is a rising sophomore interested in the humanities and economics. He is currently working with Professor Alice Staveley on the Modernist Archives Publishing Project (MAPP). Outside of CESTA, Will is involved in the Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band and Reformed University Fellowship.	Modernist Archives Publishing Project
Fiona (Fengyi) Han	Fiona Han is a rising junior majoring in Symbolic Systems. She is interested in applying machine learning tools to solve real-world problems and make improvements in people's lives. Her current project involves developing computational methods to model the relationship between place, time, and emotion in narrative texts.	Spatial Narratives in Holocaust Survivor Testimonies
Joshua Grey Hangartner	Joshua is a sophomore from San Diego interested in studying international relations and history. He is excited to be working with Professor Roberts on the Senegal Liberations Project.	Senegalese Slave Liberations Project
Tyler Thien Kinh Ho	Tyler is a rising fifth-year BS/BA dual degree student in Mathematics and East Asian Studies (Korea Subplan) and a coterminal master’s student in computer science (AI). He is interested in Korean popular media and K-pop fandom. Outside of CESTA, he can be found all around (and off) campus dancing K-pop with Stanford XTRM, where he has held many leadership positions over the past four years.	Capturing the KPop Sound Research Project
Jessica Jacobs Mason	Jessica is a rising senior majoring in English with a minor in International Relations. She is currently contributing to the Modernist Archives Publishing Project, a digital humanities initiative that brings to light the often-overlooked contributors to the publishing process. Focusing on Virginia and Leonard Woolf’s Hogarth Press, she enjoys uncovering the global web of relationships, traced through letters, order books, and other archival materials, that helped shape modernist literature.	Modernist Archives Publishing Project
Adrian Zachary Pan	Adrian Pan is a rising sophomore with a keen interest in the intersection of computer science and history. This interdisciplinary curiosity led him to contribute to the Syriac Gamification Project, where he collaborated with Professor Michael Penn to explore innovative approaches to historical research	Syriac Verb Tutorial Project
Aiden Pinuelas	Aiden Pinuelas is a rising junior majoring in History and minoring in mathematics. He is interested in interdisciplinary and emerging approaches towards how the past is conceptualized and presented. In his free time, he loves to learn and play new board games, and he promises to have a new favorite card game each week.	Women and Mobility in 18th-Century Italy: A Case Study in Scale and Representation
Aarush Santoshi	Aarush is a second-year undergraduate studying mathematics and anthropology. He is interested in the intersection of computational methods and the social sciences, with a particular focus on urban spaces and resistance narratives. Outside of research, he enjoys electronic music, nonfiction books, and climbing	Spatial Narratives in Holocaust Survivor Testimonies
Nayan Shankaran	Nayan Shankaran is a rising sophomore majoring in symbolic systems and is interested in computational social science. Previously, he studied classics and conducted molecular anthropology research. Outside of academics, Nayan is a science and technology news writer for the Stanford Daily.	Ottoman Fiscal Codex
Urangoo (Grace) Shinedelger		Advancing Digitally Disadvantaged Languages with SILICON
Juhae Chris Song	Juhae Song is a rising sophomore at Stanford studying history and computer science. Her academic interests include global labor history, the study of revolutionary movements, political economy, computer vision, and graphics. Outside of CESTA, Juhae likes to read, journal, watch movies, and visit coffee shops.	Martin Luther King, Jr. Digital Project
Chenxi (Rita) Xiang	Rita Xiang (she/her) is a rising sophomore majoring in computer science. She is particularly passionate about applying computational methods to historical and cultural research, and is excited to work with Professor Estelle Freedman on the Oral History Text Analysis Project this summer. Outside of CESTA, she enjoys digital arts, creative writing, and playing musical instruments.	Oral History Text Analysis Project