Underneath the historic domed ceiling and bronze sunburst of the Penn Museum’s Harrison Auditorium, people from 22 countries gathered last week to raise their right hands and take the oath of U.S. citizenship.
Thursday’s naturalization ceremony was hosted by Penn Global in conjunction with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the auditorium’s stage was transformed into a courtroom presided over by Judge Joshua D. Wolson, a Penn alum who graduated from the College of Arts and Sciences in 1996.
The ceremony featured remarks from Vice Provost Ezekiel Emanuel and Rodolfo (Rudie) Altamirano, International Student and Scholar Services executive director, who shared their own family citizenship stories with the 37 new citizens, their families, and friends in the audience.
“These naturalization ceremonies are far and away the highlight of what I do on a day-to-day basis,” Wolson told the group as the event kicked off. He noted that the setting of the ceremony on Penn’s campus made that day’s proceedings extra special.
“Penn is a foundational part of the country’s history. It's one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in the country. It’s a place, even before the country was founded, that represented the ideals that we hold dear today,” he said. When Benjamin Franklin founded Penn, he aimed to train young people for leadership in business and government and in public service, opening Penn to children of members of high society we well as the poor and working class, Wolson said. “The University has opened its doors and brought together people with different backgrounds, all who wanted the chance to better themselves through education. That goal has continued for the last two-and-a-half centuries,” he said.
Wolson pointed to his own undergraduate studies at Penn, where he met people from across the globe and across the country, with an array of backgrounds and backstories. He said his time with them enriched his life going forward.
“Penn is a draw to people from all over, from all different backgrounds, with different histories from different parts of the world,” he said. “That’s the story of Penn, but it’s also a parallel story for our country.”
An immigration officer then called out each of the countries represented—countries like Taiwan and China, Russia and Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Sierra Leone—and asked the participants to raise their right hands and make the oath.
Emanuel then took the podium to share his father and grandfather’s immigration stories with the crowd and urged those in the audience to look to the full name of the Statue of Liberty—Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World—as inspiration for living their new lives as American citizens.
“Those light beams emanating from her crown are meant to symbolize light going forth from the United States, to enlighten the world. The idea is that freedom—freedom of inquiry, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, the freedoms we stand for, the freedoms you want to join—are critical, critical not just for you to realize in your own life but critical to the world, to gaining knowledge, truth, enlightenment. You assume today a huge responsibility for protecting and defending the values embodied in that notion of the Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World.”
He went on to talk of his father, who immigrated to the U.S. from Israel in 1953, with less than $30 in his pocket and his most treasured object, a small Parker pen. His mother’s father was a stowaway from Russia who came, alone, to the U.S. in the 1910s as a teenager. His grandfather worked with his hands all his life and never went to college but contributed greatly to the nation, grateful to live a life free from persecution, Emanuel said.
“You’re privileged to be an American citizen. It’s a momentous occasion,” he said, adding that with those privileges come new responsibilities. “You need to lend your voice on behalf of freedom, truth, knowledge, inclusion, and all those things that are central to being an American. And you need to be against the opposite: ignorance, falsehoods, lies, suppression of the values that we hold dear.”
Altamirano described his experience coming to America from the Philippines and said gaining U.S. citizenship in the late 1990s has transformed his life.
“Like many of you, I left behind everything familiar: the comfort of home, the warmth of family, and the embrace of lifelong friends. We embarked on a journey fueled by dreams and aspirations, seeking a new beginning in a land known for its promise of liberty, justice, and opportunity. Today, as we stand here together, we reflect on the sacrifices we made and the challenges we overcame to reach this point in our journey,” he said.
He spoke of his daughters—all three were born in the U.S., which gave them the tools, resources, and opportunities to pursue their passions and carve their own paths in life.
“As we celebrate our newfound citizenship today, let us remember that the American dream is not confined to our personal achievements alone,” he said. “It extends to the dreams of our children, the generations that will follow in our footsteps. It is our duty to nurture and protect this dream, to create a society that uplifts and empowers every individual, regardless of their background or circumstances.”
Jazmin Jaquez, originally from the Dominican Republic, spoke to the audience after taking her U.S. citizenship oath. “I’ve been in this country for 17 years, and one of my main goals was to become a part of this country. I wanted to say thank you. Thank you to the United States for being a great country. I feel proud,” she said.
After the ceremony, as the new citizens were treated to red, white, and blue cupcakes, Wolson noted that Penn holds a very special place in his heart, and he’s heartened that these new citizens will now associate Penn with one of the best days of their lives.
“It’s just a great feeling to take this diverse group of people who just got naturalized and give them a little bit of that feeling about Penn: a special place that they will have as a marker for the rest of their lives as the place where they became U.S. citizens,” he said.
