Great Valley Student Becomes American Citizen

The morning of Friday, March 23, Phuong Nguyen walked into the Justice Center in West Chester Friday morning. A short while later, Kara Nguyen, an American citizen, walked out.

Nguyen, a senior at , took the Oath of Citizenship in a ceremony there, along with 35 other people, including her older sister, Thuy. As part of their new citizenship, they changed their names to Kara and Julie, respectively.

See the attached video for scenes from the naturalization ceremony.

Several of Nguyen's teachers and 13 of her classmates from the school district's English Language Learners (ELL/ESL) program surprised her when they showed up in the courtroom to support her.

After the ceremony, as the group gathered for a photo with "Benjamin Franklin," Nguyen said she felt nervous and excited, having achieved the goal she'd been working toward for five years. Nguyen will graduate this year as a member of National Honor Society.

Originally from Vietnam, Nguyen came to Great Valley after the winter break of 2006. She started claseses in January 2007 at age 14, according to ESL teacher Brenda Mormello, who attended the ceremony along with fellow teacher Gina Valente.

"I was nervous, scared, smiled all the time. I looked around me; all things were different," Nguyen said of her first day at Great Valley.

She appreciated the support she received back then from her eighth-grade language arts teacher Mrs. Scibilia (nee Jaffe), who also attended Friday's ceremony.

"She was really nice to me. She helped me a lot," Nguyen said. "When I come in, I don't speak English, she would stand next to me and ask me a question, even though she does not speak Vietnamese. She'd use a dictionary to help me."

Nguyen plans to refine her English skills at a two-year college and then transfer to a four-year college. Her sister Julie, a Great Valley alumnus, now works and studies at Delaware County Community College. Though her younger brother didn't attend the ceremony, her two younger sisters, who attended with their mother, both hope to become American citizens one day.