AMHERST — Despite the politically polarizing and often confusing time across the United States, Dorcas Boateng, a nurse practitioner in Worcester originally from Ghana, is grateful to be an American citizen.
“I really think the truth is America is full of so many opportunities,” says Boateng, who was ecstatic Monday after participating in a Naturalization Ceremony at Bowker Auditorium on the University of Massachusetts campus and hosted by the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Smiling and posing for photographs while holding her naturalization certificate and an American flag, Boateng summed up her feelings with one word: “joy.”
But she also understands that she now has rights afforded by citizenship.
“It will be a privilege to vote,” Boateng said. “This means being part of a nation, and having influence in national decisions.”
Similar sentiments were expressed by Jessica Fricker, who was accompanied by her parents, Mary and Simon, all from North Grafton. The trio, from Canada, became American citizens and will have dual citizenship, allowing them to participate in civic life and giving them more security than they’ve had in the 15 or so years they’ve lived in Massachusetts.
The tension of the current national environment actually helped galvanize their interest in becoming American citizens, even as they have been part of a local church community, volunteered at food banks and helped out with senior citizens and children. Their decision came, though, as some of their friends questioned why they would want American citizenship now.
“In this time and space, we can help people a little more securely and fairly being fully members of the United States,” Fricker said.
All told, 193 new citizens from 51 countries took the oath of citizenship at the ceremony, which was organized in coordination with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for the fourth straight year on the UMass campus.
The time of political challenges was referenced in the opening remarks from UMass Chancellor Javier Reyes, himself an immigrant from Mexico.
Reyes said that even when the United States is fractured, it still puts the best ideas of liberty at the forefront, and gives people the opportunity to exercise their freedoms.
“As naturalized citizens, we’re no longer guests living in America,” Reyes said. And people do get to keep and honor their own heritage.
His own journey from Mexico began when he pursued doctoral work at Texas A& M University, yet his family and friends were more than 900 miles away. He then taught at the University of Arkansas with an understanding that if he got tenure, the university would sponsor his green card.
“Now I’m hosting an immigration ceremony, something I had never dreamed about in 1998 when I left Mexico,” Reyes said.
Judge Elizabeth Katz advised the importance of participating in elections. “Voting is the right that makes us free,” Katz said.
Katz concluded her remarks by quoting President Calvin Coolidge: “Patriotism is easy to understand in America. It means looking out for yourself by looking out for your country.”
Before certificates were handed out, the ceremony concluded with a recorded rendition of “America the Beautiful.”
Many gathered outside Stockbridge Hall for photographs with their families, including Kate Tasanont, of North Andover, originally from Thailand. She was joined by her wife Nutchaya, who held their dog, Isabella, wrapped in a matching patriotic scarf.
Tasanont said a priority for her becoming a citizen is so she can vote.
Married for 12 years, both now have the ability to participate and vote for who they feel is the right person in local, state and national elections. Tasanont added she would vote for candidates who will keep the country from going to war.
For Tomiris Movonta, who traveled to the ceremony from Lawrence and originally hails from the Dominican Republic, the ceremony fell on her birthday.
Sitting in the auditorium, Movonta said she only needed one word to describe how she was feeling: “bien.”
