Last Thursday, July 31, a naturalization ceremony took place at the Calvin Coolidge Historic Site in Plymouth. Twenty-four Vermont residents from fourteen different countries became citizens of the United States. During the ceremony, U.S. District Court Judge Mary Kay Lanthier presided, administering the Oath of Allegiance.
The Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation and the National Society of Colonial Dames of America in the State of Vermont hosted the ceremony. A reception with cookies and lemonade followed the ceremony, as friends, family members, students, military, governing officials, and hopeful Vermonter’s gathered to watch this historic event.
Opening with remarks from naturalization deputy Sharrah LeClair, followed by a rendition of the “National Anthem” performed by Jennifer Harville Coolidge, great-granddaughter of the late President Coolidge, the ceremony centered around hope and national unity.
The morning continued as students from across the country gathered on stage to read from Coolidge’s 1924 speech, “Toleration and Liberalism.” As those from the Coolidge Senator Students program took turns reading, the underlying message of Coolidge’s words rang throughout the tent. A president who advocated for diversity and “harmonious cooperation,” Calvin Coolidge’s speech struck a chord with those in attendance. American flags waved among them, and the first seeds of patriotic hope were planted.
The ceremony proceeded to welcome to the stage all those involved in the naturalization process. As the 24 names were read aloud, families cheered and loved ones cried.
Galvan Sherpa, formerly of Nepal, told the Standard, “I came here five years ago through the Diversity Visa program. I was living in Canada at the time, and when I decided to come to America, everyone recommended I come to Vermont. I got a job as a behavior interventionist at the Rochester Middle School and began the naturalization process.”
He added, “It means so much to me to be a naturalized citizen. As a child, I used to listen to American music and watch American sitcoms. I always wanted that to be my reality, and now, almost fifty years later, it is. I knew that one day my dream would come true. Today, I thank God for this amazing opportunity.”
For more on this story, please see our August 7 edition of the Vermont Standard.
