Who is Athira Suresh? NIT Calicut alumna leaves thriving career at Bengaluru's ExxonMobil to join Indian Army

Athira Suresh, a graduate of National Institute of Technology Calicut (NIT Calicut), has recently made headlines for joining the Indian Army after completing her training at the Officers Training Academy (OTA) in Gaya. Departing from her role as a Project Controls Engineer at ExxonMobil in Bengaluru, Suresh, who hails from Kozhikode, Kerala, expressed her aspiration to serve in the military.

Commissioned as a lieutenant, she was among 253 officer cadets who graduated from the academy’s 29th passing-out parade, alongside 595 new officers inducted at OTA Chennai. A fourth-generation military family member, Suresh's father served in the Railway Protection Force, and both her grandfathers had also served in the Indian Army.

Her maternal grandparents, Gangadharan Nayar and Velayudhan Nayar, also had military backgrounds. Growing up in a military household, Suresh was influenced to join the National Cadet Corps (NCC) during her college years at NIT Calicut. Between 2021 and 2023, she served as part of the Naval Unit NCC Kozhikode. At NIT Calicut, she actively participated in the Literacy and Debating Club and served as Vice Captain of the athletics team in her final year.

Following her graduation, Suresh gained experience in the engineering sector, interning with Larson and Toubro and HiLite Builders. While the specifics of her unit and posting within the Indian Army remain undisclosed, Suresh is expected to join the technical arm of the military as a Civil Engineering graduate commissioned through the technical entry system.