America is considered one of the greatest countries on Earth. At Milwaukee Area Technical College, The Milwaukee U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Office and the U.S. District Court hosted a ceremony where 129 people became U.S. citizens.
Early Thursday morning MATC's auditorium was packed. Friends and family held their cellphones, iPads, and cameras at the ready. Aimed at the sea of red, white, and blue flags along with important documents clutched in anxious fingers.
In less than 90 minutes more than 100 applicants from over 40 countries happily became American citizens. There were happy tears in Sandra Vaiu's eyes. It's been a long 8 years to get to this moment.
"People that want to do it. I can say, can do it," said Vaiu. "There's nothing [that] is impossible."
Husband and wife, Alusine and Nanne Kamara, agree that their marriage is even stronger now that they took this 8-year journey to citizenship together.
"With perseverance and dedication I knew we gonna get it," said Nanne. "You just have to be yourself and prove you are the right person."
Alusine said, "Like Martin Luther King once said 'I have a dream'. So everybody should have a dream, and in America here, no dream is too small, no dream is too big."
Mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters all beamed at their family's accomplishment. Proudly holding her official papers, MATC student Matldia Kol says it took her five years to become a citizen and she's happy for the journey.
The sentiment that America is made up of immigrants from across the globe was repeated proudly and often.
