LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Eighty men and women from 28 different countries officially became United States citizens Tuesday in a ceremony at Sacred Heart Academy. 

A crowd filled the Ursuline Arts Center on SHA's Louisville campus Tuesday afternoon to welcome the country's newest citizens and their friends and families. 

The event was organized by Lena Fultz, a senior at SHA, in conjunction with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. 

"To our guests who are here to become U.S. citizens, and to their families and friends, thank you for letting us witness and share in this wonderful day with you," Fultz said Tuesday. "We welcome you to our campus, but more importantly, we welcome you to our country. We are better because you are here."

The 80 new citizens came to America from the following countries:

  • Bhutan
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Berma
  • Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Cuba
  • Dominican Republic
  • Ecuador
  • El Salvador
  • Eritrea
  • Guatemala
  • Hungary
  • India
  • Iran
  • Iraq
  • Mexico
  • Nepal
  • Nigeria
  • Panama
  • Philippines
  • Russia
  • Rwanda
  • Somalia
  • Taiwan
  • Thailand
  • Venezuela
  • Vietnam

Mia Cooper, vice president of mission and community at Sacred Heart Schools, thanked Fultz and her family for bringing the event to SHA and said they hope it's something that'll continue in future years.

"On behalf of Sacred Heart Schools, our Ursuline Sisters of Louisville, our board of trustees and our entire community, we truly want to say today ... we are so happy for you to be a part of our community," Cooper told the 80 new citizens. "We appreciate all the gifts that you will bring to this community and this country. And today, we'd love for you to leave knowing, from our heart to yours, you are welcome here."

Ansel Tjin-A-Tam, a neonatologist at Norton Children's Medical Group who went through a naturalization ceremony several years ago and has two children who attend the Sacred Heart Model School, attended Tuesday's ceremony to show his support for their future.

"I could see myself in all the applicants," he said. "Becoming a citizen, it just gives you hope. Being part of this American dream, you feel so grateful and thankful."

After the ceremony, Ben Beaton, a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, stayed on campus to meet with students and discuss the process of citizenship. He further explained the naturalization process to them and what it means to be a good citizen.

"We talked about the different levels of our government, branches of our government and the ways that people serve," Beaton told the new citizens. "... There will be a great deal of focus on a few elections at the end of this year, but the government you see, the community, the civil society you see around you, has so many more layers and so many more opportunities to serve and join than that discussion that may dominate what you see on TV or read in the newspapers this year.

"I would encourage you all, whether you've been here your whole life or whether you're just joining us, to think of the ways ... that we come together, all of us Americans, about the things that unite us."

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