Juan Velasquez couldn’t help by smile.
He was sitting on a bench inside a fifth-floor courtroom at the Berks County Courthouse, a small American flag held in his right hand, a proud grin stretched across his face.
Just a few moments before he had raised that right hand as he repeated his oath of allegiance to the United States, officially making the 27-year-old a citizen Wednesday afternoon.
Juan Velasquez of Reading celebrates after becoming a U.S. citizen during a naturalization ceremony Wednesday at the Berks County Courthouse. (DAVID MEKEEL – READING EAGLE)
The moment was a decade in the making, and it was one that Velasquez cherished.
“It’s going to feel like I’m doing something in life, that I’m not wasting time now,” he said.
Velasquez was one of 38 people from 10 countries to become the newest citizens of the U.S. during a naturalization ceremony organized by the Berks County Bar Association and presided over by Berks County Judge Eric Taylor.
“I want to welcome you to the melting pot that is the United States,” Taylor told the new Americans, encouraging them to embrace their new home while not forgetting about their heritage.
Velasquez, who moved to the U.S. from Colombia with his father when he was 16, said he has been doing just that. He has come to love living in his new country, lauding the opportunities it provides him.
Reading resident Juan Velasquez takes the oath of allegiance during a naturalization ceremony Wednesday at the Berks County Courthouse. (DAVID MEKEEL – READING EAGLE)
“I love all of the opportunity I have, all of the chances I have to be something in life,” the Reading High graduate and tattoo artist said.
For Roisin Kelly, the United States also provided an opportunity. For her, it was to pursue love and build a family.
She first came to the country from Ireland at 11 years old through Project Children, which brought together kids from Ireland and Northern Ireland to spend summers in the U.S. as respite from the violence then plaguing that part of Europe.
She would visit again when she was older, then come on a permanent basis in 1996. That was because she met an American man, fell in love and got married.
Roisin Kelly of Douglassville said she decided to become a U.S. citizen to set an example for her daughter. (DAVID MEKEEL – READING EAGLE)
The Douglassville woman and her husband raised three children, and with her two eldest now old enough to vote Kelly decided she needed to officially become an American.
“I have a daughter and I want to teach her the importance of voting,” she said. “I wanted to set an example for my child.”
Journeys like those taken by Velasquez and Kelly aren’t easy ones, leaving behind your home and heading to a new, unfamiliar one. That’s something Angelica Matias knows all about.
Matias, an attorney with MidPenn Legal Services, provided remarks during the ceremony, sharing her own journey.
She grew up in Puerto Rico, building a family and career there. But after Hurricane Maria in 2017, she decided to leave the island territory for Pennsylvania.
While being Puerto Rican made her an American citizen, the move was still a giant change for her, she said. In the days before she left she cried, afraid about making the decision and worried she would never feel at home again.
Her early days in the U.S. were tough as she struggled to find her own place to stay — she initially lived with her sisters — and to rebuild her career.
Because of language barriers and a lack of knowledge about the Puerto Rican legal system, she found it hard to find a job in law. She said she ended up working a lot of jobs that were unrelated to her education level.
“Starting over was not easy,” she said.
But she persevered, saying she looked at every door that was closed on her as an arrow pointing toward a new opportunity.
And she encouraged those becoming citizens Wednesday to do the same and to use their own unique backgrounds to contribute to their new country.
“Each of you carries with you a story of courage,” she said. “And your journey doesn’t end today. In many ways, it’s just beginning.”