Citizenship ceremony makes St. Joan students feel patriotic

We the people - regard voting as a right and responsibility of all citizens secured by the Constitution of the United States of America.

"The best part about being an American citizen is all the freedoms we have," said Thomas Almassey, 12, a seventh-grader at St. Joan of Arc School in Lisle.

"I think it is cool that we have a say in our government and get to vote for our own president," said his classmate Maggie Glynn, 13. "I heard an analogy on the news that compared it to having a hot dog and fries. If someone came by and took away your fries, you would be stuck with the hot dog for the next four years and you wouldn't have a say in losing your fries. But if you vote, at least you know you had a voice in the election process."

Both Lisle residents along with three classrooms of St. Joan seventh-graders attended the fourth annual naturalization ceremony this fall at Cantigny in Wheaton. The students witnessed 200 individuals take the oath of citizenship to become Americans.

"It was cool seeing people become citizens," Glynn said. "You could tell there were all different people from many parts of the world."

"The people knew it was important because many brought their families," Almassey added.

"I saw a grandmother who had happy tears in her eyes," Glynn said. "I thought, 'Wow, we are so lucky to be at this event.'"

The poignant ceremony began with Marmion Academy cadets posting colors. McCormick Foundation president and CEO, retired U.S. Army Brigadier Gen. David L. Grange gave the keynote address. A five-piece Navy Band from Great Lakes Naval Station provided music.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service partnered with the foundation to sponsor the event. U.S. District Court Judge John Darrah presided over the proceedings.

At the ceremony, each new citizen received an American flag lapel pin and hand-held flag compliments of Cantigny, said Laura Evans, Cantigny's director of visitors. As participants waved flags, the red, white and blue that signify the original 13 colonies in stripes and the 50 states in stars provided a patriotic response.

Although flag-waving patriotism might not be at the forefront of everyday thoughts, articulate seventh-graders can refresh those feelings.

Part of seventh-grade social studies is on how the United States began and built its new nation. Students also take the United States Constitution test mandated for graduation by the state of Illinois.

At Cantigny, the students' field trip included a tour the First Division Museum on the grounds. They explored American history through lifelike scenes of the First Infantry Division. The lesson of the men and women who served their country and who sacrificed personal well-being is one of heroism.

"Our students enjoyed Cantigny and seeing the 34 different nationalities that were part of the group of new Americans," said Vice Principal Henry Wind, who also serves as dean of discipline. "I know from experience these people are happy and excited to be citizens."

Wind was born in the Netherlands and lived there with his mother and father the first 11 years of his life. At an age close to his student's ages today, Wind and his family immigrated to the United States.

"It was a long eight- or nine-day trip across the ocean on a boat," Wind said. "We knew no one when we landed in New York."

With a five-year-wait to enter the U.S., the family chose to travel by train to Alberta, Canada. There the couple took on jobs such as laying sod, delivering bread and cleaning factories.

"I remember a church sponsored us in Canada and set us up with a family where we lived in their attic and I slept on the couch," Wind said. "We were living day-to-day until my dad got a steady job."

Eventually, Wind's father earned a degree in respiratory care and the family transferred to the United States when a Joliet hospital offered him a full-time position.

In 1965, Wind and his parents became United States citizens at a ceremony much like the one his students witnessed.

"The people who come here all want to better their lives," Wind said. "I do a program for our fourth-graders about Ellis Island and another based on the story of Anne Frank for our seventh-graders about my experience of becoming a citizen."

These first-hand experiences are valued lessons in citizenship.

This week, seventh-graders will have a mock election in their classroom. They will reinforce what they learned about the responsibility of being a citizen when they cast their ballots. They know that every citizen over the age of 18, regardless of income or social status, has the same power of their one vote.

"America is a great country and we should not take it for granted," Glynn said. "We should be very thankful we live here because there is no other country in the world like America."

You may not experience flags waving or hear patriotic music when you go into the voting booth Tuesday, but voting will always affirm America's freedoms. Just ask a seventh-grader.

• Joan Broz writes about Lisle. E-mail her at jgbroz@yahoo.com.