GCC students celebrate U.S. citizenship
Angelia Castillo smiles as she shakes hands with Abraham Lincoln, receiving an American flag and pin at a ceremony recognizing students who recently became U.S. citizens at the Glendale Community College Garfield campus on Thursday, April 21, 2016.
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More than 50 Glendale Community College students were recognized last week for recently obtaining U.S. citizenship.
The students, who all became citizens in the last two years, went through either the college’s 16-week citizenship course — which offers lessons on U.S. history in preparation for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services naturalization exam — or its English as a Second Language classes.
The free citizenship course, which has been around for more than 20 years, is offered at the college every semester.
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Among those recognized was Adib Mattar, who remembered his brother, who died serving in the U.S. Army in 1945.
“His life was very short, and he gave his life for his adopted country,” Mattar said, according to a prepared statement. “I am proud to be a citizen of this country that my brother loved so much.”
Others who were recognized immigrated to the U.S. from Armenia, Mexico and Korea, said Pat Zayas, the school’s English language civics coordinator and president of the nonprofit Altrusa International of Glendale, which organized the event.
“We are proud of these individuals who work hard and who are motivated to participate in the American way of life,” Zayas said.
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Alene Tchekmedyian, alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com
Twitter: @atchek
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