CSUB hosts naturalization ceremony

A naturalization ceremony and swearing-in of 100 Valley residents

By California State University, Bakersfield

November 8^th, 2019

For the first time in CSU Bakersfield history, the university will host a naturalization ceremony and swearing-in of 100 Valley residents, who will enter the Dore Theatre as nationals of countries from around the world but leave together as American citizens.

What: 100 people from throughout the Valley will become new U.S. citizens
When: 11 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12
Where: The Dore Theatre at CSU Bakersfield, 9001 Stockdale Highway
Entry: The event is free and open to the public
Parking: Lot C, to the east of the Dore Theatre, is reserved for ceremony guests

“We are incredibly honored to be part of a day for our neighbors that will live in their hearts and memories forever,” said CSUB President Dr. Lynnette Zelezny. “Imagine the pride and patriotism they will feel after making the choice to become Americans. What a precious time.”

CSUB sociology professor Dr. Alem Kebede is among the dozens who will be sworn in Tuesday at the ceremony, organized by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Fresno Field Office and CSU Bakersfield. The timing of the ceremony is in honor of Veterans Day.

Kebede realized after visiting his homeland of Ethiopia following the death of his mother last year that it was time to become a full citizen of the United States, where he has lived for 27 years, since arriving to pursue his master’s degree in 1992.

“When I was at the airport, returning from Ethiopia, the security officer said, ‘Welcome home.’ I had tears in my eyes and I said, ‘It’s true. This is home.’”

The ceremony is the culmination of a lengthy and rigorous process of interviews, exams and paperwork that takes incredible discipline and perseverance to complete, said Supervisory Immigration Services Officer Marshall Lancaster.

“It can be a minimum of five years or decades,” he said. “It depends on the individual. I had a Korean orphan yesterday who’s been here 58 years, and he is deciding to get his certificate of citizenship.”

It was only after the death of his mother that Kebede realized he was ready to become a citizen of the country where all three of his sons were born. His wife, also a native of Ethiopia, became a naturalized U.S. citizen years ago.

“It’s not like you go from A to B. It’s a gradual, smooth transition. I’m choosing to become an American but there’s no way I’m going to completely give up my Ethiopian identity.”

Kebede joins about 13,000 other Central Valley residents who become naturalized citizens every year, Lancaster said. Based in Fresno, Lancaster’s territory sprawls over a vast section of the heartland of California. Three or four ceremonies like the one being held at CSUB take place in Kern County every year, he said.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event,” Lancaster noted. “And it’s a big change, probably equivalent to the birth of a first child or getting married. It’s a very inspirational, motivational time.”

The public is invited to the ceremony, which consists of a welcome by President Zelezny, the Pledge of Allegiance, the National Anthem, a keynote address by Norma Gaspar Ontiveros, executive producer of Telemundo Valle Central, and the awarding of certificates by Dr. Zelezny, Lancaster and Gaspar Ontiveros.

The highlight, Lancaster said, is the moment when the new citizens raise their hands and recite the Oath of Allegiance.

Kebede said he’s excited about swearing the oath and receiving his certificate, after living nearly half his life in the country he chose.

“The death of my mother was symbolic to me, in terms of going through the process and making it official,” he said. “I said it’s time to become an American.”

Naturalization is the process by which U.S. citizenship is conferred upon foreign citizens or nationals who have fulfilled the requirements established by Congress. After naturalization, foreign-born citizens enjoy nearly all the benefits, rights and responsibilities that the Constitution gives to native-born U.S. citizens.