ARCHBOLD, Ohio — Seventy-five people raised their right hand and took an oath Thursday morning at Sauder Village in Archbold, officially becoming U.S. citizens.
WTOL 11 spoke with some who say they look forward to not only being citizens, but embodying other aspects of the American Dream, too.
Daniel Felbah, from Ghana, said the ceremony on the Fourth of July was "a monumental event."
"It's the long journey of what people have to go through to get to this point. It's amazing," he said. "It's a personal achievement and a very emotional one as well. So, yes, very grateful for that."
Felbah has some things he's excited to do.
"For me, especially, it's looking forward to voting, very important, and also serving on the jury if I'm called," he said.
Speakers at the annual naturalization ceremony talked about the challenges and obstacles the 75 individuals have overcome and the distances they've traveled.
They hailed from 35 countries in total.
Shreya Swarup, from India, said the effort to get to where she's at has all been worth it.
"It takes time, and then it takes a lot of effort to come to here," she said. "But once we are here, we all get to celebrate, so that's really good."
Now, Swarup is focusing on her next major goal of running her own business.
"For me, getting the citizenship will also give me more opportunities, which I couldn't for my business as a business owner, which I couldn't do much before," she said. "That's a really good thing."
Becoming a U.S. citizen wasn't the only special part of July 4 for Swarup, either.
"Today is my birthday and today is America's birthday too, so, I guess it's meant to be," she said.