Palatine Students Get to Witness Naturalization Ceremony

Students at Palatine’s witnessed 26 individuals from countries around the world sworn in as U.S. citizens Wednesday.

Nationals from Bulgaria, China, Georgia, Guatemala, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Syria, Ukraine and the United Kingdom were sworn in as citizens by an Immigration Services representative.

Most naturalization ceremonies are held in a courthouse. But on May 2, Winston was the second school in Illinois to host a naturalization ceremony, said Scott Scafidi, Winston Campus Elementary’s assistant principal.

Scafidi coordinated the naturalization ceremony with Citizenship Counts, a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan organization that is committed to educating students on the tenets of citizenship and encouraging them to participate in community service. Sixth-grade classes at Winston Campus Elementary recently completed Citizenship Counts’ curriculum, with the naturalization ceremony being the culmination of the program.

The ceremony was highlighted by speaker Sam Harris, Chicago Magazine’s 2009 “Chicagoan of the Year.”

Harris lived through two concentration camps during the Holocaust and immigrated as an orphan to the United States when he was 12. He was adopted by a couple in Northbrook. Later he became a naturalized citizen. During his speech, he spoke about the value of American citizenship and the importance of giving back to the community.

Also at the ceremony was Citizenship Counts’ board member Diane Eckstein and her husband, John. The two are taking place in a 3,500-mile bike ride and walk across the country called “A Journey That Counts: Promoting Citizenship Education from Sea to Shining Sea.”

The purpose of their journey is to inspire pride in America while promoting engaged citizenship and raising awareness about the naturalization process. The Ecksteins’ journey began Jan. 27 in San Diego, Calif., and will end at the Statue of Liberty in New York. In between, they will stop in 11 other cities for naturalization ceremonies or other celebrations of citizenship and civic engagement. The naturalization ceremony at was their eighth stop en route to the Statue of Liberty.