Brentwood Students Host 50 New U.S. Citizens

Brentwood High School students shared in a momentous day for 50 strangers.

On April 20, the school hosted a naturalization ceremony for new United States citizens who came from the Philippines, Mexico, Yugoslavia, India, Iraq, Brazil, Vietnam, and many more countries.

It was the culmination of “mix-it-up week,” Brentwood junior Nora Durham said.

“We get out of our comfort zones,” she said. “The theme was international diversity.”

One day the students took a mock citizenship test, and they were surprised. “We live here but we didn’t know all the answers.”

“It’s important for people to realize how hard it is to become a citizen,” Durham said. “What it means to these people, what it should mean for us, living here as American citizens.”

Each new citizen had a Brentwood student as a chaperone, who took the new citizens from the auditorium to the reception with homemade goodies.

Brentwood freshman, Ben Moran, was a chaperone for a new citizen from Somalia. “It’s fun to go through the experience with them,” he said. “It makes me feel like I’m lucky to be a citizen. It seems like a special honor to be one.”

Ana Christine, from Brazil, said she’s been in the U.S. for 10 years. “It was a dream that I’ve always wanted,” she said. “All of my four children are, and I thought why not have the same privilege everybody else does. Have the freedom that everybody else here does?”

Ayfer Olgun, from Turkey, said she wasn’t expecting the ceremony. She said it was good for the students to witness it.

“They are able to see how emotional (the experience is) with other people, who come from different countries,” she said. “It’s really good for them to experience, and it’s good for us to see Americans.”

Josie Naumann was Olgun’s chaperone. “I feel honored that I got to chaperone her,” she said. “It’s just nice to be a part of things.”