Amaan Sandhu: Punjab teen basketball player eyeing NBA
Compiled by: Team GI Youth
(March 29, 2023) On his first day in the gym at the New Jersey-based Monmouth University, his basketball coach King Rice played Mundian toh bach ke rahi, a song by Panjabi MC, to welcome Amaan Sandhu. “I was like damn! These guys know my song! That was pretty cool. It really made me feel welcome,” said the Mohali native, who has scripted history by becoming the first male Indian basketball player to commit to an NCAA Division 1 college. It is the highest level of collegiate basketball in the USA and one of the prime recruitment pools for the NBA. Hailing from Punjab, Amaan’s ultimate goal is to make it to the NBA.
Amaan Sandhu
Coming from a family of basketball players where his father played for the national team and his mother played for Punjab, growing up, he also saw his older sister play for the U-18 Indian team. This got him interested in the sport, and by the age of 13 when he was already 6 foot 7, he was scouted by the NBA India Academy located in Greater Noida in 2018. In the following years, he participated in three Basketball Without Borders (BWB) camps, including BWB Asia 2018 in India, BWB Asia 2019 in Tokyo, and BWB Global Camp 2020 in Chicago during NBA All-Star Weekend. He also represented NBA Academy India at the 2018 NBA Academy games in Canberra, Australia.
On the academy’s recommendation, he joined the First Love Christian Academy in Pittsburgh, USA in the fall of 2020. By the time he graduated, he started attracting the attention of many colleges in the US as he had already shot up to 7 feet in height.
But Amaan wasn’t always keen on college basketball as NBA was on his mind, always. However, in 2018, when he joined the NBA Academy and started taking basketball seriously, his coaches encouraged him to take up college basketball and that’s how he decided to go for it. However, his parents weren’t enthused about his decision and he had to convince them. “My parents didn’t know much about college basketball in the USA. So, I had to educate them on how that puts me one step closer to professional basketball. My parents played in the 1990s and 2000s so they have no idea about college basketball because Indian college basketball is really small, It’s not even close to what college basketball in the USA is like,” he told Sportstar.
The 19-year-old, who will have a chance to go to the league upon graduation, is keen to major in communication. For this Mohali boy, moving to the US was nothing less than a culture shock. “I ain’t gonna lie. I didn’t speak a word of English before I joined the NBA Academy in 2017. But that was the only way to communicate with my coaches who are all from the USA. I was like I can’t speak to my coaches if I can’t speak English. When I went to school in the states, I saw the way people speak and I picked it right up,” added the teenager, who felt welcomed in the US. Being the only Indian in the teams that he played for, he was happy to satiate the curiosity of the Americans who were keen to know more about him, his religion, and India.
For someone who dreams of playing in the NBA, getting selected into a college in the US was a great deal. “It was only when I came for my high school that I learnt there was nobody from India in Division One here. That motivated me to do well,” he said in an interview.
Amaan is the third player from the NBA Academy India to earn a Division I basketball scholarship, joining Sanjana Rnesha and Harsimran Kaur on the women’s side. ” I’m blessed with the opportunity. Like being the first India-born player and the first NBA India prospect to earn a D1 scholarship. It is definitely going to help me a lot.”
(April 29, 2022) In April 2011, anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare began his famous hunger strike at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi. The movement spread and a series of protests erupted across the country, with Time magazine naming it one of the Top 10 News Stories of 2011. Shivam Shankar Singh, who was setting off to the University of Michigan at the time, found the protests evoked a sense of urgency in him. So, when Prashant Kishor founded Citizens for Accountable Governance in 2013, data analyst Shivam dove headlong into a political career. Today, at the age of 29, he is not just a political consultant of repute, he is also the author of two books - How to Win an Indian Election (2019) and The Art of Conjuring Alternate Realities, which hit bookstores in 2021. In July, he will head off to Tsinghua University in Beijing's Forbidden City, as a Schwarzman Scholar for 2022. Deep dive into politics In 2013, Prashant Kishor launched the Citizens for Accountable Governance (CAG, later IPAC), a "turning point in Indian politics", says Shivam, adding, "For the first time, there was room for professionals in the political space. Until that point, joining politics meant working your
countable Governance (CAG, later IPAC), a "turning point in Indian politics", says Shivam, adding, "For the first time, there was room for professionals in the political space. Until that point, joining politics meant working your way up as a karyakarta." He seized the opportunity, volunteering with CAG's projects even though he was in the US at the time.
When he returned in 2015, his LAMP fellowship sent him right back into the heart of Delhi politics. "I knew I wanted to be in politics and the policy space, and it seemed like the best opportunity," he says. One of the most prestigious fellowships, LAMP fellows shadow a member of parliament for a year, starting from the monsoon session, till the end of the budget session. Assigned to the office of PD Rai, Lok Sabha MP from Sikkim, Shivam had an insider’s view, familiarising himself with grassroots politics in the north-east.
It was a defining experience and Shivam recalls working with the likes of Shashi Tharoor, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Dinesh Trivedi and Meenakshi Lekhi. "We became familiar with their life stories, their rise as politicians," he explains.
The parliamentary questions expose
Preparing parliamentary questions was an important part of the job. Shivam was puzzled to discover that some MPs seem to have their questions selected more than others. Each member of parliament can submit up to 10 questions each day, out of which five are picked for answering on the floor of the house. Although this is decided in a ballot process, something seemed awry.
The Parliamentary Questions system was extremely flawed but very valuable in keeping the govt accountable.
It didn’t even require any house time as most questions got only written answers! Read this investigation we did on the system to understand it.https://t.co/xWQOIA1nup
"Some MPs get most of their questions selected, while others get less than a third," Shivam explains. "There were three of us in Rai's office, two former LAMP fellows. We pulled the data and realised that the system had been completely rigged," he says.
The expose went viral, receiving attention from the upper echelons of government and even resulting in a policy change. "The rigging happened across party lines but most of them were from Maharashtra," Shivam laughs. "Today, I'm on great terms with a lot of them but at that point, they were pretty angry with me!," he adds.
Rebranding Captain Amarinder Singh
When the LAMP fellowship ended in 2015, Shivam returned to Kishor's I-PAC the following year. "I had a base in data analytics by then," he says. His return was during the run-up to the 2017 Punjab legislative assembly election and leading the charge for the Congress was Amarinder Singh. The Congress had hired Prashant Kishor for the campaign, and Shivam was soon on ground in rural Punjab.
"I was involved with the rebranding of Amarinder Singh. He was seen back then as unapproachable, as royalty and not a man of the people," Shivam explains. The first change Kishor, Shivam and the team made was to bring back Singh's army title - Captain. "Being in the army comes with a certain connotation - the general perception is of a man of action, who stands by his countrymen," he remarks. A massive media campaign followed, along with Amarinder making an election promise to visit every constituency. "He had never actually done this before," Shivam adds. "He didn't make it to all but he went to many."
The campaign also used technology in a way that hadn’t been done before in a state election, although Narendra Modi had set a precedent during his prime ministerial campaign in 2014. "We wanted everyone to know that the Captain had been to their constituency."
Entry and exit from the saffron party
The IPAC stint lasted five months, after which Shivam officially joined the data analytics wing of the BJP. Again, his arrival was timely - just ahead of assembly elections in Manipur (2017) and Tripura (2018). His was assigned with formulating election strategies and targetting voter groups through social media.
In June 2018, Shivam made a rather public exit from the BJP's fold, with a post on social media titled, 'Why I am resigning from BJP'. It went viral. "By that time it had become obvious that the campaign was mostly about religious discourse. It was a very different type of political messaging from 2014, when economic development was the focus. I knew I had to leave," he adds.
By this time, Shivam already had a reputation as a data analyst and political expert. Now he found himself showered with media attention.
It had its appeal - "you're automatically seen as an achiever, just because you have been on television," he says. Even so, he found that fame for fame's sake just wasn't what he wanted from life. "If it doesn't align with what you're actually trying to do, then it's of no use. I'm sure there are different ways of looking at it but this is mine," he adds.
‘Booked’ by Penguin Random House
Later that year, Penguin Random House made him an offer. "Prashant Kishor had signed a book deal but never got around to actually writing it. Penguin was looking for someone to talk about what a political consultant does. So they reached out to me after the Tripura election," he reveals. Writing a book appeared to be quite a challenge but he began anyway. How to Win an Indian Election hit the stands in 2019 and was an instant bestseller. "Luck has its role to play," Shivam grins. There is a glut of books on politics, "written by people who have a lot more media support. Since my book came just before the Tripura election, timing had a big role to play in its success."
What does a political consultant do, then? "Usually, we're standing around wondering how to stick posters to walls or figuring out how everything sounds through the speakers," he laughs. "People imagine us sitting around tables and chalking up strategies. This happens, yes but it's only a small part of the process."
Infowars and the art of conjuring realities
After his exit from the political fray, Shivam joined a data analytics firm that worked on the national elections. "There was a lot of talk on how data influences politics. Then I met Anand Venkatanarayanan," he says adding, "At the time, he was testifying as an expert witness in the Pegasus case." Venkatanarayanan is a cyber security and privacy researcher who broke the story of the hack of Kundunkulam nuclear reactor by the North Koreans. He was also called as an expert witness before the Supreme Court of India in the Aadhar case. Shivam and Anand are co-authors of The Art of Conjuring Alternate Realities. Shivam's second offering as a writer, the book was released in 2021.
"It began with a simple enough theory," Shivam explains. "Human power was once decided by physical strength and the size of the tribe. Then, money became the center of power - colonial powers didn't have large armies but they had more money than the nations they conquered. Now, that power is shifting to information and our ability to control it. If I can shape the information you see, I can shape your perception."
Beijing-bound
He intends for this to be his line of work after he returns from Beijing. "Political parties are now doing at the local level, what intelligence agencies once did across nations, to shape optics," Shivam explains. "We have a low resilience population with the potential for many cultural fractures. How will these issues be weaponised," he asks. "How will the information warfare play out? How do we educate people about it?"
(October 2, 2022) CM Arvind Kejriwal's decision to implement the odd-even car rule in the national capital was appreciated not just across the country, but by many foreign leaders as well. However, the scheme that was aimed at curbing the growing rate of pollution and traffic in Delhi, did cause the city dwellers some discomfort. Akshat Mittal's father was one of the people whose schedule was disturbed, as every other day he had to search for a friend who owned a vehicle with an odd registration number. To help his father, and millions of other Delhiites, the then 13-year-old entrepreneur came up with a web platform Odd-even.com - which helped people in New Delhi share rides in 2015. The platform helped over 60,000 people and was later sold to a carpooling company Orahi for an undisclosed amount. “When the Chief Minister declared that odd and even numbered cars will ply on alternate days, I thought about the problem people would face due to enforcement of the new rule. The idea was that many people living in the same locality might want to go to the same place, but might not be aware of each other. My website aims to bridge
o to the same place, but might not be aware of each other. My website aims to bridge the communication gap. Besides, the platform will also help make new contacts," the young entrepreneur told YourStory during an interaction.
However, his story doesn't end here. When the pandemic forced blue-collar workers to migrate back to their native places, Akshat found another online platform, Bharat Shramik, to help the daily wage labourers look for a sustainable livelihood closer to their homes. Decorated with many awards, including the Student Entrepreneur of the Year 2020, this future leader is currently studying business economics at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Like father, like son
When he was just a toddler Akshat would sometimes just sit on his father's lap and watch him develop websites for his work. As he grew up, he too started learning about computer coding programmes from his father. A brilliant child, it didn't take long for the young entrepreneur to create a website all by himself. "I did the HTML, CSS, and JAVA coding, and my father helped me with PHP coding," explained the Global Indian.
[caption id="attachment_22517" align="aligncenter" width="639"] Akshat and his father at the UN Women conference[/caption]
For Odd-even.com, Akshat focussed on connecting people travelling on a similar route to reach their workplace. In fact, his website was so sophisticated that it ran on algorithms based on the age, gender, profession, and timings of commuters' travel. "All you need to do is log in and put your details, including name, registration number of the car, destination, and preferences," shared Akshat. To ensure the riders' safety, the platform also asked the user to log in through their social media platform and upload a government-issued photo identification proof.
Making an impact
When COVID stuck, Akshat was studying in standard XI. One day, while watching the news with his family, the young entrepreneur got to know about migrant workers moving back to their homes in huge numbers. While it seemed like a situation that would solve itself in a couple of days, the news about labours dying of heatstroke, accident, or even starvation moved the young boy. "I was touched by the news of migrant workers starving and dying due to hunger. While there are jobs and unemployed workers, there is no mechanism to tie them together," Akshat shared with Economic Times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mONpL9lJ24s
After a few weeks of working day and night, Akshat developed a website - Bharat Shramik - that could help with the situation. The platform uses matchmaking technology to help unemployed workers search for a job closer to their homes. The workers can register themselves on the website by calling a multi-lingual helpline number +91 8822 022 022, which is powered by Knowlarity. The platform also helps employers, who had to close operations during the pandemic, to hire a workforce from the website. The database will also be shared with the local governments to help them improve their unemployment programmes.
The young entrepreneur, who aspires to be an investment banker someday, is focussed on helping those in need. "I aspire to initiate a bigger social change in India. I noticed how there was no single repository where citizens can list all the issues that they face daily. I wish to create such a database one day," the changemaker said during a media interaction.
(May 15, 2022) Back in 2012, a 19-year-old student based in Thiruvananthapuram started an NGO named SARSAS (Save A Rupee Spread a Smile), which aimed at encouraging charity and social work in youngsters. Almost a decade later, environmentalist Sanju was selected as one of the young climate leaders from India by the United Nations as part of their campaign ‘We the Change’, for his exceptional work, in 2021. [caption id="attachment_16665" align="aligncenter" width="701"] Sanju Soman[/caption] Currently, Sanju is tirelessly working on several environmental issues through his NGO Sustera Foundation, which drives collective action through capacity building training, campaigns and policy dialogues to equip communities to adapt better to climate disasters and climate change. "Change should happen now and at a very fast rate," advocates Sanju, during an interview with Global Indian, adding, "During my college days, when I was working towards initiating SARSAS, I realised that there are a lot of youngsters who are ready to do social work but they are unable to do so, due to the lack of a proper platform." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sanju Soman (@sanju.changemaker) Some of the major programmes that Sanju initiated in the last ten years
initiating SARSAS, I realised that there are a lot of youngsters who are ready to do social work but they are unable to do so, due to the lack of a proper platform."
Some of the major programmes that Sanju initiated in the last ten years are rainwater harvesting project in Malayinkeezhu, a drought-prone region in Kerala and Trivandrum, an annual charity run to raise funds for financially needy patients suffering from critical diseases. The environmentalist also undertook a 10-day cycling expedition, covering the Western Ghats from Mumbai to Bengaluru in early 2015.
A green panther
A native of Adoor in Kerala, Sanju grew up in Saudi Arabia, where his father worked as a laboratory technician. Although he was attending an excellent school, Sanju would eagerly wait for vacation time, when he would get to come to India. "Saudi back in the day had many restrictions. I was the only child, and didn't have many friends. So, I felt lonely some times. However, back in India, I had several friends. My grandparents lived in a beautiful home, and I remember as a child I would visit paddy field with my grandfather, and loved exploring the village," shares the environmentalist.
[caption id="attachment_16666" align="aligncenter" width="438"] A childhood image of Sanju[/caption]
His love for Kerala made him shift his base soon after finishing his class X in Saudi. "My last two years of schooling were awesome. I made so many friends, and was even involved the co-curricular activities at school," says Sanju, who describes himself as an above average student. After finishing school, while other students were confused whether to pursue engineering or medicine, Sanju chose to study human psychology from SN College in Thiruvananthapuram.
[caption id="attachment_16667" align="aligncenter" width="728"] Sanju during a workshop[/caption]
However, it was during his graduation years that Sanju started getting involved in various voluntary organisations. "I started SARSAS in 2013, which turned out to be one of the largest youth-led NGOs in Trivandrum. The idea was to create a space for young people where they can share their thoughts and discuss about varied social issues, without any hesitations or fear of being judged," shares the nature activist. Through their efforts, SARSAS raised around Rs 70 lakh over five years to support cancer patients, who were from vulnerable communities. The team also launched several social projects, which involved about 300 to 500 volunteers.
Creating a "model wetland village"
During his post-graduation in Climate Change and Sustainability Studies at the Tata Institute of Social Studies (TISS), the environmentalist joined the Ladakh Ecological Development Group (LEDeG) as a Research Intern in 2015, where he worked for two months. After he came back from Ladakh, Sanju joined the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) and led the Habitat learning project in 2016. There he trained teachers and students of government schools near the Vembanad Lake in Kerala for a period of two years.
"Vembanad lake is the second largest Ramsar wetland site in India and also one of the most diverse and flood-prone regions in Kerala. Realising the importance of the lake, we engaged with the villagers in teaching the students and teachers about climate change and the importance of habitat conservation with a focus on wetlands, especially the one that they live by," Sanju explains. This work made him one of the 58 Global school ambassadors from across the world, chosen by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UN-SDSN) to scale up SDG education in schools.
[caption id="attachment_16669" align="aligncenter" width="751"] Women of Muhamma village working at the social innovation lab[/caption]
It was around this time that Sanju started working on the concept of making a wetland village sustainable and self-sufficient. "Muhamma is a small village which is also part of the Vembanad-Kol Ramsar wetland site. While I was attending a panchayat meeting there, I learnt about the struggles of the fishing community people residing there, especially the women. They were talking about how the increasing plastic pollution was affecting their livelihoods. So, we developed a three-year plan to make the panchayat energy efficient, plastic-free, and also to improve the livelihood of people,” the environmentalist says.
[caption id="attachment_16668" align="aligncenter" width="698"] Sanju, along with several other environmentalists. during an event[/caption]
The programme was affected due to the COVID situation in the country, and the tasks are still a work-in-progress. "There have been drastic changes like reduced plastic consumption, increase in tree cover in the area and recovery of canals,” he says. To empower the ladies in the area, Sanju also set up a social innovation lab, through which Sustera trained over 150 women from the fishing communities on cloth upcycling. He was also part of an initiative to make Muhamma the first synthetic sanitary napkin-free village.
The road ahead
Along with his friends, Sanju started a social enterprise named BHAVA in 2018 to support those women making upcycled goods to sell their products in the market. They succeeded in providing a minimum wage of Rs 5,000 per month to around 40 women through this as an additional income. The environmentalist also launched one of the largest upcycling efforts in Kerala and converted around 30,000 kg of cloth waste into usable products.
Simultaneously, Sanju founded Sustera Foundation, an NGO, to train youngsters in climate action, capacity building of local self-government institutions, and supporting climate entrepreneurs. The NGO has mentored over 70 entrepreneur teams over the past few years.
Currently residing in London with his wife Sonu, Sanju works with World Institute of Sustainable Energy. His research centers on understanding and facilitating multi-level climate governance in Kerala. “I met Sonu while we were working at the ATREE and our ideologies matched. We didn’t want an extravagant wedding. Instead, we used the money kept for the wedding to help people in need during the pandemic. We also used some money to develop a Miyawaki forest in a small piece of land,” says the environmentalist, who is also managing Sustera with its new initiatives in Kerala like creating an ecosystem for green enterprises and eco-restoration.
(March 13, 2024) Losing her grandmother to no first aid, Bengaluru teen Veruschka Pandey knew she wanted to do something in the field of public health. Her determination solidified when she saw people losing their lives to cardiac arrest during covid. Upon research, she found that many weren't trained in CPR, leading to the loss of many lives. This prompted her to start Surya Nayak, a project that helps give CPR training to ASHA workers, bus drivers, factory workers and security personnel in Karnataka. "Now I want to make it a mass movement," said the 15-year-old. International recognition Recently, she became the first teen from Karnataka and the second from India to have participated in the 1M1B Activate Impact Youth Summit held at the UN in New York. It was here that she got a chance to present her project which showcased her contribution to the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in India. [caption id="attachment_36552" align="aligncenter" width="729"] Veruschka Pandey is the founder of Project Surya Nayak.[/caption] During the summit, she emphasised the need to create awareness and make it a mass movement among health workers and the Indian youth to achieve the SDGs by 2030. "I believe it's our
During the summit, she emphasised the need to create awareness and make it a mass movement among health workers and the Indian youth to achieve the SDGs by 2030. "I believe it's our responsibility to educate people about CPR." Comparing hearts to vessels filled with empathy, love, and life, she highlighted the importance of teaching CPR to save lives and prevent untimely deaths.
Her impactful work and thoughts were showcased through a documentary titled 'Heart is a Vessel' at the UN, followed by a panel discussion featuring her mentor Manav Subodh and acclaimed filmmaker Amit Madheshiya. Additionally, a documentary on Veruschka by Madheshiva was screened at the event. Veruschka's efforts also gained recognition beyond the summit. She recently presented her project at UC Berkeley, San Francisco, under the 1M1B programme and secured the second prize. Her project, Surya Nayak, focuses on training ASHA workers in CPR, leveraging their significant presence in rural India to create a domino effect of awareness.
Saving lives
"My project Surya Nayak aims to train ASHA workers in CPR because currently there are 1.5 lakh ASHA workers in India and one per 1,000 population. I thought teaching this substantial population predominant in rural India would help me advocate my cause and raise awareness like a domino effect because these ASHA workers are well-knit within their local community" said the student of The International School Bangalore.
It all began after she lost her grandmother, and wanted to create an impact on public health. For cardiac arrests, she found the loophole in the initial first aid - CPR, and decided to learn herself and soon felt the need to impart the education to others. However, many eyebrows were raised when they realised her age. She was only 14 when she started working with ASHA workers. "When I started training, they weren't sure and confident of their own capabilities if they could learn and really perform CPR. Finally, they realised that they could do it properly after training sessions," she added.
Over the last year, she has expanded her project to different parts of Bengaluru. Sharing her experience of carrying out the project in Kolar, she said, "I reviewed their first aid material and went for a five-hour course on CPR myself, to review what they would teach. After this partnership, I collaborated with them for my first training in Kolar."
Proud to have presented her project at the UN and in front of the UC Berkeley faculty, she said that she feels motivated and appreciated. "My efforts require bigger hands to join in to make this a successful mass movement. I feel that to achieve UN sustainable goals by 2030, each one of us has to join hands and work hard to achieve the goals and make them a possibility," she said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Efq3WjuQCqc
Veruschka Pandey has undoubtedly made a significant impact on public health with Project Surya. Her initiative to train ASHA workers and bus drivers in CPR not only empowers these essential frontline workers but also has the potential to save countless lives. By spreading awareness and providing crucial training, Veruschka's work addresses the critical need for timely intervention in medical emergencies, ultimately enhancing survival rates. Furthermore, her recognition at the United Nations not only acknowledges her remarkable efforts but also amplifies the importance of youth-led initiatives in addressing global health challenges. Veruschka's dedication and passion serve as an inspiring example of how individuals, regardless of age, can drive meaningful change and make a tangible difference in their communities and beyond.
(July 5, 2024) The U.S. has an estimated 750,000 Sikh-Americans. Anmol Narang made history when, at the age of 23, she became the first observant Sikh to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy, West Point in 2020. It was a dream come true for the young officer to pass out from the most famous military academy in the world with more than a 200-year-old history. As the saying goes, ‘where there is a will, there is a way’, she recalled mailing her application to West Point, the military academy in the US from a hotel in Hawaii during her junior year of high school. She had just visited the Pearl Harbor National Memorial there and had felt inspired to serve. “Gender and religion do not hinder a person’s ability to be successful,” Anmol said, adding, “That’s the great thing about the United States military is that it brings together people from all corners of the world.” [caption id="attachment_38497" align="aligncenter" width="705"] Anmol Narang[/caption] After completing a rigorous four-year training programme at the 222-year-old U.S. Military Academy, Anmol Narang finished her Basic Officer Leadership Course at Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma. She then reported to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, for
dian Youth | Anmol Narang | Global Indian " width="705" height="594" /> Anmol Narang[/caption]
After completing a rigorous four-year training programme at the 222-year-old U.S. Military Academy, Anmol Narang finished her Basic Officer Leadership Course at Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma. She then reported to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, for her first posting, as a second lieutenant. After a year of her posting there, she was conferred the Federally Employed Women (FEW) Meritorious Service Award for her outstanding performance.
Inspired by her grandfather
Growing up in Roswell, Georgia, Anmol found the real stories her maternal grandfather, a veteran of the Indian Army, “very fascinating.” Her career choice to enter the Army was a natural progression. “The idea of a career in the Army seemed appealing” to her, even when she was young and didn’t know how to make it a part of her life.
Her grandfather, who served in the Indian Army in the 1960s and 70s, instilled in her the values of service and giving back to the community. A visit to the Pearl Harbor National Memorial in Hawaii during a trip strengthened her desire to follow her grandfather’s example. Learning about the sacrifices of service members, and the results of those sacrifices was very impactful on her impressionable mind.
When she graduated from the US Military Academy, excited and happy to be fulfilling her dream, she remarked, “The confidence and support of my community back home in Georgia has been deeply meaningful to me, and I am humbled that in reaching this goal, I am showing other Sikh Americansthat any career path is possible for anyone willing to rise to the challenge.”
Choosing the air defence branch
Anmol Narang had pursued a year of undergraduate studies at the Georgia Institute of Technology before joining West Point military academy, where she studied nuclear engineering which led her to a career path in air defence.
Upon graduating from the U.S. Military Academy, Anmol chose the air defense branch. “Air defense units play a pivotal role in ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region and help ensure that events like the bombing of Pearl Harbor don’t happen again,” Anmol had shared, explaining her choice. She highlighted that she was honoured to share such an important mission in the Pacific with her teammates.
Anmol went on to serve as the fire control platoon leader for Delta Battery, 1-1 ADA (Air Defense Artillery) which consisted of a diverse group of soldiers who operated U.S. Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) systems.
After a year at Kadena Air Base in Japan, Lieutenant Anmol Narang was awarded the Federally Employed Women (FEW) Meritorious Service Award during the annual FEW virtual leadership conference.
FEW’s Military Meritorious Service Awards recognise outstanding military service members within the Armed Forces who have distinguished themselves through significant contributions to their service in the US.
For her consistent engagement with subordinates and mentoring of female soldiers in Delta Battery, she got nominated by one of her mentors, Lt. Col. Rosanna Clemente, former commander of 1-1 ADA, and finally won the award.
Through her journey of becoming the first observant Sikh to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy and her dedicated performance as a soldier, Anmol Narang has been an inspiration for young people to pursue their dreams, regardless of gender or religion.
Akshat Mittal, entrepreneur[/caption]
Akshat and his father at the UN Women conference[/caption]
A childhood image of Sanju[/caption]
Sanju during a workshop[/caption]
Women of Muhamma village working at the social innovation lab[/caption]
Sanju, along with several other environmentalists. during an event[/caption]
Project Surya Nayak[/caption]
Anmol Narang[/caption]
Anmol Narang[/caption]