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15 take oath as new US citizens
Fifteen persons were sworn in yesterday at the U.S. District Court as new U.S citizens.
The new citizens—who originated from the Philippines, South Korea, and China—swore their allegiance to the United States of America and were welcomed by Veterans of Foreign Wars Saipan Post 3457 commander Brad Ruszala.
This was Ruszala’s first time to speak at a naturalization ceremony. He said it was a great honor. To prepare his speech, Ruszala dug into his family’s history. “That was something I felt really happy to be able to share with everybody,” he said.
Ruszala said his great-grandparents migrated to the United States about 100 years ago to chase the American dream. Ruszala’s great-grandparents were of Polish, Hungarian, English, and Native American ancestry. “You’ve got a lot in common with my great grandparents. You’ve found the courage to leave your homeland in search of something new, something better,” he said. “Your new duties and responsibilities as Americans also begin today. You are now citizens of the wealthiest, most powerful, and most influential nation mankind has ever known.”
According to new citizen Milagros Ordonez, who has been on Saipan for nearly 35 years, she was still in shock, but said it felt amazing to finally be a U.S. citizen, something that she has been waiting for five years. “I feel nervous, I feel happy, and it’s just so amazing,” she said.
Ordonez’s son, Arthur Mieron, was present during the ceremony to support his mother and is extremely grateful that his mother now has all the privileges that come with being a citizen.
“I am just so grateful that she gets to be a U.S. citizen just like me and get to enjoy what America can give her,” he said.
The rest of the new U.S. citizens are Arcelia Alcantara, Danilo Alcantara, Amorzolita Borja, Alejandro Bricia, Florencia Gacutan, Suying Jin, Kee Hyun Kang, In Yung Lee, Kwong Hung Leung, Guangchao Li, Jinwen Ma, Myra Sison, and Merarcy Templado.
