Indian-origin teen Riddhi Chauhan leads 300 cadets in US Navy-backed school programme

Riddhi Chauhan, a 17-year-old Indian-origin student, leads nearly 300 cadets as Battalion Commanding Officer of her school's Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC) unit.

The NJROTC programme is a US Navy-backed leadership programme run in high schools across the United States.

Riddhi is preparing to enter the Naval Academy Preparatory School, a stepping stone to the United States Naval Academy.

She previously served as Academic Commander, helping her school's team reach the second round of the Leadership and Academic Bowl for two consecutive years and secure first place in a national academic competition.

As STEM Commander, she led cadets in building the unit's first SeaPerch underwater robot from scratch.