Public Sector Transportation Engineer

Could an immigrant from India who arrived in the U.S. unable to speak English, possibly become an engineer and later elected as the Lt. Governor in her home state? Only in America! 

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Aruna Miller (AM) was born in India, where she was raised by her grandmother until age 7, when her father, an engineer who had earlier emigrated from India to the U.S., decided it was best for the entire family to live together. 

CHILDHOOD

Arriving in the U.S. for the first time at age 7, “my dad was a stranger to me. My siblings were strangers to me, (same for) my mom, all of it,” said AM, who also said she doesn’t remember any of her time in India as a child because of the trauma she said she experienced leaving her grandmother. “So, I came to this country, you know, like they say, a stranger in a strange land, with a strange family.”

When AM stepped off the plane, with her father by her side, she thought the crowd at the airport was there to welcome her. She thought the snow was white confetti, part of a celebration in her honor. 

EDUCATION

AM learned to speak and read English while attending public school. Following her high school graduation, AM attended Missouri University of Science and Technology, graduating with a major in engineering, thanks in part to the Pell grants she received after her father lost his engineering job because of his illness.

EARLY CAREER PATHS

As an engineer, as was her father, AM saw her career in the public sector working on transportation projects as her own way of giving back to her adoptive country.

“When you have that kind of opportunity, you know, you have a responsibility to do what you can to give back,” said AM of her decision to work in the public sector, initially as a transportation engineer with Los Angeles County Public Works, and later, on the East Coast, in an engineering job with Montgomery County, Maryland, which exposed AM to a network of government and business representatives.  

Editor’s note – Per Wikipedia, ‘transportation engineering’ or ‘transport engineering’ is the application of technology and scientific principles to the planning, functional design, operation, and management of facilities for any mode of transportation to provide for the safe, efficient, rapid, comfortable, convenient, economical, and environmentally compatible movement of people and goods. 

The planning aspects of transportation engineering relate to elements of urban planning and involve technical forecasting decisions and political factors. Technical forecasting of passenger travel usual involves an urban transportation planning model, requiring the estimation of trip generation (number of purposeful trips), trip distribution (destination choice) and route assignment (streets or routes to be used). More sophisticated forecasting includes other aspects of travelers’ decisions, such as auto ownership, trip chaining (linking individual trips together) and choice of residential or business location (known as land use forecasting). 

The transportation facilities which are the subject of transportation engineering, support air, highway, railroad, pipeline, water and even space transportation. Design aspects include the sizing of transportation facilities, determining the materials and thickness used in pavement and designing the geometry (vertical and horizontal alignment) of the roadway or track. 

HOW A POLITICAL CAREER MAY BEGIN

“There was nothing in my horizon ever to be in elected office,” said AM. “As I often say, sometimes…. We have plans for life, and other times, life has plans for us.”

After a state delegate resigned, local officials urged AM, then a member of her political party’s county committee, to run for the seat. At first, AM resisted elective office when a resignation opened a seat in the Maryland state legislature. Eventually she entered the race after her husband suggested she give it more thought, including how her service could help to improve the lives of many others. 

CHALLENGE – NO ONE THERE LOOKS LIKE ME

AM was initially concerned about serving in the state government because she worried, “Nobody looks like me that’s elected. No one’s going to vote for me.” Then she thought of what good she could do. 

Thus, was launched a journey which AM describes as improbable for an immigrant from India, culminating in 2022, being sworn in as Maryland’s Lt. Governor alongside Maryland’s first elected Black Governor, Wes Moore.

CHALLENGE – FEAR OF PUBLIC SPEAKING

Another challenge for some new politicians: standing to speak solo to a group, sometimes a VERY LARGE group. But AM conquered her fear by taking an ‘improv’ stand-up comedy class, resulting in her friends calling her “as hilariously funny and one of the most genuine people” they know. 

EXPANDING A TRADITIONAL ROLE

During AM’s eight years serving as a state legislator, she pushed legislation requiring universities to update their sexual assault policies and a measure requiring additional protections for victims of domestic violence. 

Friends recall AM’s opposition to a proposed law (a ‘bill”) that would have excluded nail salon technicians from receiving unemployment insurance. She fought against the bill, using her skills as a public speaker, to argue that the measure would be unfair, particularly to minority women. 

“As frightening as it was for me to step out of my comfort zone and do things I’d never done before, canvassing for voters by knocking on doors for myself… it was worth the risk,” said AM. 

Under the Maryland state constitution, the Lt. Governor has no expressly defined duties other than assuming the role of governor if the governor is incapacitated. The Lt. Governor’s role is otherwise delegated by the Governor, per the state constitution. But Governor Wes Moore, a political newcomer himself, promised that AM, a former state legislator who served two terms in the state House of Delegates before an unsuccessful run for U.S. Congress, will be “the most consequential lieutenant governor” in the country. Moore often described AM as a seasoned legislator who he sees as his partner in working to close Maryland’s wealth gap. Her ‘portfolio” (areas of responsibility) will include:

• Broad focus on equity (she understands minority mentality)
• Transportation (based on her prior real-world career experience)
• Mental health (her father suffered from bipolar disorder when AM was growing up)
• STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)

AM’s engineering education and experience plus her father’s mental health issues and her own rise from an immigrant minority all provide unique background for AM to promote what progress in those areas may be possible with government focus. 

CHALLENGE – CRITICISM OF POLITICAL FUNDRAISING SOURCES

An elevated profile has brought a unique challenge for AM, who is among several Middle Eastern Indian Americans across the country who have been accused by the Indian American Muslim Council of receiving funds from supporters with ties to Hidutva, a Hindu nationalist movement, since India is under scrutiny by the nongovernmental organizations Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch for issues that include the treatment of India’s Muslim minority. 

AM’s campaign spokespersons plus her running mate, who was eventually elected Governor, responded by noting that other campaigns in Maryland and across the country have accepted donations from wealthy Indian Americans and that AM’s record includes fighting for religious freedom and supporting Muslim communities.

Editor’s note – Such criticism, which raises the issue of racism, might ironically be described as racist itself. But in the U.S., freedom of expression is broadly preserved – especially in politics – with the main limitations of threatening violence or public safety, for example one cannot legally yell “Fire!” in a dark movie theater when there is not even any smoke.

CAREER SATISFACTION

As a child living in India until age 7, AM never expected to be here but plans to make the most of her opportunities. 

“AM is the politician who does the right thing when no one is looking,” said a political observer.

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This career story is based on several sources, including a news article written by Ovetta Wiggins, published by The Washington Post on 1/15/23 plus internet searches including Wikipedia.