The Wait Ends at Parkway South

Tauseef Taher Charanya, a student at Washington University, sat patiently in his chair as the symphonic orchestra played "God Bless America" in a room decorated with American flags and red, white and blue flowers. For Charanya, who was born in India, Tuesday was the end of a long journey to become a United States citizen.

"You go through a lot of things like coming to another country and going through the process. There is just a lot of waiting," said Charanya, who along with 61 other individuals representing 22 countries, Tuesday took part in the citizenship naturalization ceremony in the school's gym.

This was the third year in a row the school has hosted the event, thanks to Barbara Ryan, Parkway South teacher and chair of the social studies department, who started the initiative.

Three years ago, Ryan received a letter from the United States Bankruptcy Court of the Eastern District of Missouri, which handles the naturalization process and ceremony. The ceremony is usually held in the Thomas Eagleton Courthouse in downtown St. Louis. The letter invited Ryan and her students to witness the ceremony there.

"I realized I wouldn't be able to bring them all there, so I just called and asked them if they would consider having the ceremony here in Parkway South," Ryan said.

After many meetings and paperwork, the location was approved. Ryan said she didn't mind going through the trouble of organizing it, because she always wanted her students to witness what it was like for some people to become a naturalized U.S. citizen.

"When I taught government I used to give 20 questions on the first day of class that were part of the citizenship test, and very few students could pass it," Ryan told Town and Country-Manchester Patch. "By the end of the course, they could. I tried to point out to them how much it means for other people to become a citizen of the U.S. They are willing to study for this test, which is hard. They are willing to learn the English language, and I think when the students come to the ceremony and they see the emotions involved, they realize the importance of being a U.S. citizen."

Dudley McCarter, attorney and former board member of the , gave the keynote address at Tuesday's ceremony. McCarter said he always thought he became a U.S. citizen the easy way, while others worked very hard for it.

"I became a citizen the easy way. I was born here," McCarter told the prospective citizens prior to taking their oath. "My mother would tell you that it wasn't that easy. But from what I remember, it was pretty easy. You on the other hand, became citizens the hard way. You have earned it."

After the keynote address, the soon-to-be citizens swore by an oath of allegiance to honor and obey the laws of the United States government. The orchestra followed the oath by playing the "Star Spangled Banner".

Shahab Quresh, a physician from Pakistan, said he was excited when he heard the national anthem. After nine years of being in the U.S., he could finally be recognized as a citizen. 

"The hardest part is patience," Quresh said. "It can get frustrating sometimes, but if you are patient, things are much easier."

Several Parkway students observed the ceremony Tuesday. Among them, Naoufel Farid, a junior, watched the ceremony and recalled his own parents' struggle to become U.S. citizens after coming from Algeria when he was very young.

"It's definitely harder for them because they had to start form ground zero," Farid said.

His friends sitting next to him said they now realized how citizenship was something they took for granted.

"We feel like we were born to this, and we were handed this, and they worked really hard," said Liza Merloth, also a junior at Parkway South. "We are celebrating all their hard work and the fact they are all citizens. I just felt like I really didn't earn it or deserve it as much as they did."

After the ceremony, the new citizens had  the opportunity to register to vote.

Chester Moyer, U.S. citizenship and immigration  director, has witnessed many ceremonies like this in his career. He said such events help strengthen the nation.

"It's a renewal," Moyer said. "It's the rebirth of the United States."