A Naturalization Ceremony for 39 new American citizens took place on campus Tuesday, November 2, witnessed enthusiastically by the entire school community.

A special session of the U.S. District Court of Connecticut was convened in the Olcott Center for the occasion, with U.S. District Court Judge Alfred Covello ’50 presiding. The 39 candidates for citizenship representing 22 countries, including Jamaica, Mexico, Canada, Columbia, Denmark, Lithuania, Vietnam, and Syria, took the Oath of Allegiance and were awarded certificates of citizenship. As each individual received his or her certificate, the crowd of students, faculty, staff, and invited guests erupted in cheers.

Loomis is only the second high school in Connecticut history to host a Naturalization Ceremony, according to Molly Pond, history teacher and associate director of the Norton Family Center for the Common Good. In opening remarks for the ceremony, Molly said hosting the event fit the school’s mission to advance the development of spirit, mind, and body in students from diverse cultural backgrounds, and to inspire in them a commitment to the best self and the common good. Molly acknowledged Chairman of the Loomis Chaffee Board of Trustees Chris Norton ’76, Lynn and Nick ’78 Norton, and former Trustee Peter Seigle ’65 and his wife, Patty, for connecting the school to Judge Covello.

After court was officially convened, Camille Fisher of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services instructed the 39 candidates to stand as each of their countries of origin was called. Officer Fisher announced that the applicants had all met the required qualifications, and she made a motion to the court that the candidates be admitted as citizens of the United States.

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free …” said Judge Covello, quoting a line from an Emma Lazarus poem inscribed on the Statue of Liberty’s base before administering the Oath of Allegiance. “I will,” the candidates said in unison as they accepted the oath. By taking the oath, the candidates agreed to remain in allegiance with the United States above all nations, to support and defend the Constitution and the laws of this country, and to perform work of national importance as required by law.

Judge Covello welcomed the group as U.S. citizens and explained that they now enjoy many personal freedoms, including the liberty to speak freely, assemble peaceably, practice their religion of choice, educate themselves, work, and elect those who will govern. A temporary government office was set up on campus after the ceremony enabling the new citizens and others to register to vote and apply for a U.S. passport.

The keynote speaker for the ceremony was Richard Wright, Orvil Dryfoos Professor of Public Affairs and geography professor at Dartmouth College, who specializes in the study of immigrant populations and migration and who is himself a naturalized U.S. citizen. Originally from England, Richard, who is married to Head of School Sheila Culbert, expressed gratitude for his experience coming to this country with Sheila as graduate students in the late 1970s and staying on to become citizens in 1995.

Given his “simple and privileged” experience, Richard said, “Teaching about immigration is actually a humbling experience” because every immigrant has “a remarkable story to tell.” Many immigrants choose to leave war, famine, and other devastating situations and seek refuge in this country. A great many don’t speak the language, and travel great distances to come to the United States. And many leave family members behind to seek a better life and opportunities.

“Only 3 percent of the world’s population lives in a country different than their birth country,” stated Richard. Of 230 million immigrants worldwide, 42 million live in the United States and 20 million of those are naturalized citizens. “No other country in the world has that many naturalized citizens,” he said.

“E pluribus unum – out of many, one,” he said, referencing the Latin phrase that appears on the Great Seal of the United States. Richard discussed some of the ways this phrase may be interpreted in relation to the United States and its people. It is especially significant, he said, when it comes to the “powerful mechanism of civil inclusion” that is citizenship. Out of many different backgrounds, races, religions, and genders, we collectively make one group of united people with rights and responsibilities granted to us through the Constitution, which we collectively agree to uphold, he noted.

As the newest members of this union, the new citizens have a responsibility to participate in public life, Richard said. He urged them to speak their minds about immigration issues and other topics of importance to them as newcomers, and participate in rigorous debate because a “plurality of voices produces democracy.”

“You constitute these United States,” Richard said to the new citizens. “Speak up.”

In the emotional culmination of the ceremony, each of the 39 new citizens stepped down from the bleachers to accept a Certificate of Citizenship and to shake hands and take photos with Judge Covello, Officer Fisher, Sheila, Richard, and others. The audience burst into applause as the name and country of origin of each candidate was called, and many recipients waved flags to the cheering audience and posed for photos with family members.

“I know it’s a long process to get citizenship in this country,” said junior Sam Goldfarb after the experience. “It was really cool to see people actually becoming citizens and how much it meant to them.”

“I definitely found the Naturalization Ceremony a moving experience,” said senior Susanna Vdovenko. “I have dual citizenship between America and Russia, and my father was a first-generation immigrant, so I know how difficult it is for immigrants to gain approval from our government. It makes me feel so happy to see others granted citizenship into our wonderful country filled with opportunity.”

“This is the best of what we do,” said Eric LaForest, history teacher and director of the Norton Family Center. “The ‘we’ can mean both America and Loomis Chaffee.”