Joyce Shaeker, a native of India, speaks five languages. But in the moments after she received her United States citizenship during a naturalization ceremony at Temple, she was at a loss for words.

“I feel like I’m in heaven right now,” Shaeker said, her eyes closed in reflection. “I don’t have words to express, but I’m very, very happy.”

Ryan S. Brandenberg / Temple University

Joyce Shaeker, a native of India, takes the oath of allegiance. She earned a Temple degree two days after receiving her U.S. citizenship.

Shaeker was among 50 people representing 33 countries who officially became U.S. citizens during the ceremony, held Jan. 26 in the Fox School of Business’ Alter Hall. The Fox School’s Legal Studies Department organized the event during Law Week, designed to give students a first-hand look at the law in action.

Shaeker was also one of at least four new citizens with Temple connections, although hers was perhaps the most striking. Within a span of just two days, she earned both her citizenship and a degree in accounting — both within the Fox School.

Others with Temple ties had similar stories of accomplishment.

For Magdalena Anna Korecka, who came to America from Poland in 1996, becoming a citizen was a family affair. Daughters Paulina and Aleksandra joined her as all three received their certificates.

“Since we’ve been here that long, it’s kind of a check box to formalize everything, but it does feel a little more distinguished now that we really count as being in this country,” Paulina Korecka said.

Aleksandra Korecka, a Tyler School of Art student graduating in May, attended the ceremony between classes. She had a more pragmatic view of her new nationality: “I hear it’s going to be easier to get a job now that I’m a citizen.”

Mark Collins arrived in the U.S. from England in 1991 as a postdoctoral worker at Wayne State University. Collins, who said his college friends call him “the most English person they know,” thought his stay would last two years. He received his green card in 2002, married wife Beth — a two-time Fox School graduate — in 2004 and had twin boys three years later.

“So I figured it was time,” he said with a laugh.

Ryan S. Brandenberg / Temple University

Rulla Aswad, who earned her master's degree in oral biology from Temple, was one of 50 people to receive citizenship during a Jan. 26 naturalization ceremony at the Fox School of Business.

Rulla Aswad, a native of Syria, also plans to raise her family here. Aswad earned her master’s degree in oral biology from Temple and is a former part-time faculty member. She’s currently caring for her 1-year-old twin boys, Kareem and Amir, in addition to 7-year-old daughter Rama.

“I have been waiting for this day for a long time,” Aswad said. “This is home for me. This is the country I want to live in and raise my kids. I feel more secure by being a citizen.”

Fox School Dean M. Moshe Porat, who immigrated to America in 1976, spoke during the event, as did U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Section Chief Phillip Browndeis. He said the gathered immigrants might have applied for citizenship to join family, to search for a better quality of life or to escape persecution. Either way, he said, the “United States is a better country with your presence.”

A few feet away sat Joseph Dechemin, a native of Haiti who, like the rest of the new citizens, held a small American flag. Unlike the other citizens, however, he also wore a leather jacket with USA printed across the back.

“I like this because this is the flag of America. I like it because I want to have freedom. That’s why I got this coat,” he said. “Today is a big day in my life, because this is my ceremony.”