"My Grand Day in America"

This past Friday, another one of our elders took his oath of naturalization and became a citizen of the United States.  The ceremony, which saw 268 individuals from 65 different nations take the oath, was a part of WorldFest, one of our favourite celebrations here in Louisville.  President Obama delivered a special video address to the new citizens, and Congressman John Yarmuth and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer both gave beautiful speeches as well.

Lazaro, from Cuba, has been a regular attender of the Elder Program basically since its inception; he is an excellent student and is always willing to help in just about any way possible.  You may also remember that Lazaro is an exceptional artist.  His work is simply stunning, but he hasn't spent much time painting in the past year because he has been studying so diligently for his citizenship test.  Now that he is a citizen, we hope to see Lazaro begin to paint again and to share his incredible talent with the rest of Louisville.

Here are some photos from Lazaro's citizenship ceremony:

Lazaro with his mentor Rachel before the ceremony.

You can see Lazaro at the front in the middle waving his American flag as they introduced all the applicants from Cuba.

Lazaro proudly holds his certificate of naturalization!

With his daughter and wife after the ceremony...

Jenny, Lazaro, teacher Christine, and volunteer Frank after the ceremony.

Louisville's Office of Globalization had a large American flag made out of cupcakes for the new citizens after the ceremony.

After his ceremony, Lazaro exclaimed, "This is my grand day in America- my dream..." We are so very proud of Lazaro and all that he has accomplished; we are so happy he finally got his "grand day" and cannot wait to see everything he will do as an American!  Congratulations Lazaro!

The ceremony was also featured in the Courier-Journal; Lazaro is actually on the video as well!  Click here to read the article and watch the video.  And, if anyone is looking to commission a piece of art by Lazaro, let us know- we'll be happy to introduce you to one amazing artist and now one amazing American!