This past Wednesday, Prospect Ridge Academy proudly hosted a naturalization ceremony to help celebrate and welcome 14 citizens, representing nine different countries of origin, as they took the oath to become U.S. citizens.
Wednesday marked the second straight year that PRA has held a naturalization ceremony in partnership with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) department. The ceremony is a formal event where new U.S. citizens take the Oath of Allegiance and receive their naturalization certificate, signifying their official status as American citizens.
PRA was honored to join the family members and friends of America’s 14 newest citizens to celebrate and recognize the years of hard work, dedication and sacrifice each of them made in choosing the path to U.S. citizenship. All of whom had come together from uniquely different backgrounds and countries of origin — Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico and Nepal — to complete their journey to becoming citizens.
Andrew Lambrecht, Field Office Director of the USCIS Denver Field Office, conducted the ceremony while honorees heard welcoming and encouraging remarks from guest speakers that included Chief Petty Officer, Elijah Moore, from the United States Navy; representatives for Colorado U.S. Senators, John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennett; as well as PRA third grade students and staff.
The entire third grade class at PRA participated in the ceremony by singing the national anthem and “This Land is Your Land.” PRA students also presented each honoree with flowers and flags —the U.S. flag and one from their native countries — before concluding the event by leading guests in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
The ceremony was a powerful and real world learning opportunity for PRA’s third graders. After learning a unit on immigration in second grade, the current Class of 2034 then spent time this year studying citizenship, which covered topics such as: how to be a responsible citizen, what are our rights and responsibilities as citizens of the U.S., how do our actions contribute to our communities, what does it take to become a citizen, and how we can welcome new citizens.
Prior to Wednesday’s naturalization ceremony, PRA’s third grade classrooms also welcomed guest speakers throughout the school year during this unit to share their own immigration and naturalization journeys.
