25 Kids From 11 Countries Become Citizens In Tulsa’s First Children’s Naturalization Ceremony

More than 20 children from 11 different countries are now American citizens.

They took part in Tulsa's first Children's Naturalization Ceremony, which happened at Gathering Place Thursday. 

Under the shade of the Reading Tree at Tulsa's Gathering Place, dozens and dozens of people gathered to watch 25 kids from 11 countries become citizens.

"There is a great track record of the children of immigrants doing remarkable things. You are sitting in the middle of one of them - this place - the greatest park gift to any city in American history was the vision of a child of immigrants," said Tulsa's Mayor GT Bynum. 

At one point, the kids got to stand up and cheer when their country of origin was called out, many of them proudly cheering while holding American Flags, ready to start this new chapter of their lives. 

Kids were involved in the whole ceremony, from the music, to the speakers and the color guard.

"The most important thing for our family is, he is still from Vasutu, he is still a Vasutu man, but also he gets to be an American and get all those privileges and rights that come with being a citizen," mother Tara Glenn said.

Many local organizations were also involved in the ceremony, including the Tulsa Fire Department, Boy Scouts of America Troop 10, Eisenhower International Girl Scouts, and the Sistema Tulsa Community Youth Orchestra. An Oklahoma State University student sang the national anthem and a Tulsa Honor Academy high school student gave a speech.

"This was a great opportunity for our youth to participate in the youth ceremony, because they get a much different view of how citizenship is," Boy Scout Commander for Troop 10 Paul Dahmke said.

To learn more about the naturalization process, visit this website here.