Aruna scripts history in US, but keeps faith in Telugu roots

Hyderabad: It’s celebration time for Aruna Miller’s native village of Ventrapragada in Pedaparupudi mandal of Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh. Family, friends and villagers are over the moon after she won in the US mid-term polls to become the first immigrant to occupy the office of lieutenant governor of Maryland.

- Ch Sushil Rao Madhu Rasala tun

Soon after her victory, villagers cut a cake and exchanged sweets as they celebrated the momentous occasion which has placed their small village on the world map.

Born in Hyderabad, Aruna (58) arrived in the US along with her parents and siblings in 1972 when she was seven. Her father Katragadda Venkata Rama Rao, a mechanical engineer, worked for IBM.

After her initial education in New York, she graduated as a civil engineer from Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla. She then moved to Montgomery County in Maryland in 1990, where she married her college sweetheart David Miller. They have three daughters, Meena, Chloe and Sasha. Aruna worked as a transportation engineer and was later involved in Montgomery County in various capacities.