Anmol Narang, an Indian-American Sikh, created history by becoming the first observant Sikh to graduate from the prestigious United States Military Academy at West Point.
In a statement on the eve of the historic occasion, Anmol Narang said that she was excited and honoured. “I am excited and honoured to be fulfilling my dream of graduating from West Point on Saturday. 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 Americans that any career path is possible for anyone willing to rise to the challenge," she said.
Narang was among about 1,100 cadets who graduated on Saturday at the premier institution's campus in West Point in New York with the rank of 2nd lieutenant.
Who is Anmol Narang?
Indian-origin Anmol Narang was born and raised in Roswell, Georgia, Narang had an early appreciation for military service due to her maternal grandfather's career in the Indian Army.
After she developed an interest in military service during high school, she began the process to apply for the West Point after her family visited Pearl Harbor National Memorial in Honolulu, Hawaii.
In an interview to New York Times, Anmol Narang said that her grandfather was in the Indian Army and she always wanted to be in the field of military service.
She will now complete her Basic Officer Leadership Course at Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma. After successful completion of Basic Officer Leadership Course, Narang will then head to her first posting in Okinawa, Japan, in January of 2021.
She attended one year of undergraduate study at the Georgia Institute of Technology before transferring to West Point, where she proceeded to study nuclear engineering and pursue a career path in air defense systems.
(Inputs from Agencies)
