‘Brave and revolutionary’
Naturalization ceremony in Colonial Williamsburg welcomes 49 new citizens
WILLIAMSBURG — Dozens gathered on the lawn outside of the Capitol on Duke of Gloucester Street Monday to watch and cheer as 49 new citizens received their certificates of naturalization in a brief ceremony.
Since 1976, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, in partnership with the Williamsburg chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, has hosted annual ceremonies that serve as the culmination of the long naturalization process.
Victoria Albu, who lives in Chesapeake, watched as her dad, Vasile, received his certificate of naturalization during the ceremony after waiting two years.
Albu came to the United States from Moldova with her husband, Valentin, 18 years ago. Several years later, Albu’s father followed in her footsteps, leaving Moldova, a small, landlocked country tucked between Ukraine and Romania, for the chance to seek “a better life and more opportunities,” Albu said.
“It’s moments like this that remind all of us what a remarkable gift it is to be an American,” Colonial Williamsburg CEO Cliff Fleet said as he stood before the crowd.
Fleet referred to the event as a recognition of the importance of immigrants, who help to make the country better.
“This nation was founded on an idea, the idea that we all can be free,” he said.
Following Fleet’s remarks, the assembled crowd of naturalization candidates and their families and friends sang the national anthem and then recited the Pledge of Allegiance. The candidates then recited the Oath of Allegiance followed by the American’s Creed.
Afterward, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s Bryan Austin, who portrays James Madison, addressed the crowd as his “fledgling fellow countrymen,” before speaking about the “inheritance” that every American citizen receives to take on the challenge of being a part of shaping the country into something better.
“I hope that 250 years from now, new inheritors will look back on this group and say how great and brave and revolutionary you are,” he said.
During the ceremony, new citizens such as Malini Ramella, who has been in the U.S. for nearly 20 years, and Desiree Ara-Is, a freshman studying mechanical engineering at Old Dominion University, received their certificates as well as a small American flag.
Ramella, originally from India, now lives in Virginia Beach, though she was happy that her ceremony took place somewhere as beautiful as Williamsburg, she said.
Ara-Is, who was born in the Philippines and moved to the U.S. in 2009, followed in the footsteps of her mom and older sisters as she became a new American citizen.
“It was a beautiful ceremony,”