Editor:

   On Sept. 25 I attended a naturalization ceremony at Windham High School, sponsored by the middle school. The ceremony naturalized 90 new citizens from 41 countries, and it was the one of the most moving and spectacular events I have ever attended.

    I was a guest of my student, Abdelhafiz Younis, who is from Darfur. Abdelhafiz came here as a refugee under difficult circumstances; he had to leave the rest of his family home in Darfur and is here, helping them from afar. He has no other family here, and I was truly honored to be his witness for his citizenship. 

   The school band played the national anthem, the chorus sang, the color guards performed, former Gov. Angus King addressed the crowd of more than 1,000 and hundreds of middle school students were able to be a part of this historic event. It was the kind of naturalization ceremony that should occur for all new citizens of this country.

   As a teacher of English language learners at SMCC, I spoke to my students about this experience and shared with them my emotions while partaking in this moment. We talked about the gifts of freedom – freedom from war, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and much more. My students read some of my past letters to the newspaper, and we decided that learning to be active members of society included this practice.

   Today you will read many of these letters from my students. I am proud of their willingness to take this risk, to put their ideas into words, and to experience the chance to see their opinions in writing. I hope you will enjoy them as well.

   As each of them takes the steps to becoming citizens of this country, I encourage them to be active in this charge – to contribute to social capital, to become involved in their community, and to give energy to help bring about change.

   We live in a country that gives us great gifts, many which we may often take for granted. My students remind me, every day, that there are many people around the world who are not so fortunate.

   Please join me in appreciating their first act of verbal publication!

Rosemarie De Angelis

South Portland

[Editors note: Letters from De Angelis’ students will appear this week and in upcoming issues of the Sentry as space allows.]

— Sentry blog editor's note: Letters from De Angelis' students will also be posted on the blog as they appear in print, including this week's student letters.