25 PEOPLE FROM 12 COUNTRIES TOOK PART IN A SWEARING IN CEREMONY FRIDAY AT THE MARY J. TREGLIA COMMUNITY HOUSE TO BECOME UNITED STATES CITIZENS.
MELANIE SHARP, A NATIVE OF GERMANY, HAS BEEN IN AMERICA FOR 16 YEARS AND HAS BEEN WORKING TOWARDS THIS GOAL FOR SOME TIME::
SWORN IN1 OC…….I FEEL AMAZING. :10
BARBARA NEWHOUSE, THE DIRECTOR OF THE MARY TREGLIA COMMUNITY HOUSE, SAYS THIS WAS A LONG JOURNEY FOR MANY THAT HAS INVOLVED HARD WORK AND SACRIFICE FOR THE NEW CITIZENS AND THEIR FAMILIES:
SWORN IN2 OC……IN THE ROOM. :10
THE COMMUNITY HOUSE HAS BEEN THE SITE FOR SEVERAL OATH CEREMONIES IN RECENT YEARS, BUT
NEWHOUSE SAYS THIS ONE HITS DIFFERENTLY, BECAUSE PATHWAYS TO UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT TO COME BY.
SHE SAYS THEY ARE ESPECIALLY PROUD TO HAVE BEEN CHOSEN TO HOST THE EVENT:
SWORN IN3 OC…MEANT SO MUCH. :13
MARY J. TREGLIA COMMUNITY HOUSE HAS PROVIDED CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES TO SIOUX CITY SINCE 1921:
SWORN IN4 OC…AMERICA SYSTEM. :12
LAST YEAR ALONE, THE COMMUNITY HOUSE PROVIDED 678 INDIVIDUALS WITH LEGAL IMMIGRATION CASES AND/OR CONSULTATIONS, SUPPORTED 1,400+ PEOPLE WHO WERE NEWCOMERS TO THE AREA, SERVED 32 PRESCHOOL
STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD, AND TAUGHT ENGLISH TO 158 STUDENTS FROM 21 COUNTRIES.
Photos by Sheila Brummer
