Constitution Day Has Special Meaning
for MTC Citizenship Graduates
Graduates of Moultrie Tech’s summer English Literacy, Civics and Naturalization class in Tifton celebrate their accomplishment and preparation for the naturalization exam. Pictured on the front row, left to right, are Pedro Gutierrez, Gloria Alvarez, Maria Harris, Jee M. Hancock, class instructor Dina Willis, Amada Garza, Sharda Patel, Ana Rodriguez and Salome Ortiz. Back row, left to right, are Cesar Salgado, Alberto Moreno, Raymundo Hernandez, Nestor Galvez, Mario Gonzalez, Amarilys Martin, Theresa Mogena and Roxana LeBlanc. Graduates not pictured are Ascencion Arzate, Lillian Castillo, Felix Hernandez, Luis Ortiz, Leticia Valadez and Manuel Valadez.
For 22 people who have settled in the Tift County area from all over the world, the date of September 17 and its celebration of Constitution and Citizenship Day marks a milestone in a long and arduous journey to become United States citizens.
Moultrie Technical College’s English Literacy, Civics and Naturalization class, which is offered free of charge to anyone wishing to learn about the United States in order to apply for citizenship and to take the naturalization exam, finished its summer classes in August and has already begun with a new group of citizen-hopefuls in September.
The summer graduating class was a worldwide melting pot with students from Croatia, India, Malaysia and primarily Spanish-speaking countries.
September’s Constitution and Citizenship Day, created by U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd as an amendment to the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2005, celebrates the privileges and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship and is an apt time to recognize those seeking naturalization.
Class instructor Dina Willis says of the classes, “They learn writing and speaking English through exercises, games and dictations. They also practice learning the answers to the 100 questions found on the naturalization test which covers government, U.S. history and every day living.”
Willis speaks from experience. As a bilingual secretary with a business diploma from Guatemala, she learned English in her home country and came to the United States in 1990 where she met her husband, a Ty Ty native, while vacationing in South Carolina.
Her first job in the states was with Georgia Legal Services in Atlanta helping immigrants with legal matters. She then became an administrative assistant at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton in 1998. She now works in the Baldwin Library.
Willis, a registered and certified translator through the state of Georgia, has been teaching Moultrie Tech’s naturalization classes since 2003 and has seen close to 125 graduates in those two years.
The classes are offered three days a week from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Literacy Volunteers of America offices in Tifton. Each class averages over 20 students. However, the spring 2005 class boasted a record 35 students.
Willis says, “I try to make the class fun. With fun, they learn.” She adds the class members get very individualized attention. “If they don’t come one week, I call them.”
“After 14 weeks, they know everything they need to know to pass the test. It is very difficult to pass the test without taking the class first.”
To date, 22 graduates have passed the U.S. naturalization exam. However, taking the test is one of the last hurdles one must clear to become a citizen.
A person must live as a permanent resident in the states for five years before they can even apply for U.S. citizenship; or they may apply after three years if they are married to a U.S. citizen.
The U.S. Immigration Office then takes fingerprints and begins the interview process. Hopefuls must wait an additional eight months before they will be called to take the exam, which comes with a price tag of $410.
Willis estimates only about five percent actually go through the whole process. She attributes this to the expense, the waiting time and the vast number of those who apply.
In addition, she says many don’t want to lose their citizenship in their home countries. Mexico is an exception, as it allows dual citizenship.
For more information on Moultrie Technical College’s English Literacy, Civics and Naturalization classes, call the Literacy Volunteers of America office at 382-0505.
Media Release- August 12, 2005
Contact: Jana Wiggins, Moultrie Technical College, Director of Marketing
(229) 217-4139 or (229) 891-7000
Jerry Smith, Director of Adult Literacy
(229) 891-7000
Liz Keith, Adult Literacy instructor, Tifton campus
(229) 391-2600
Email: jwiggins@moultrietech.edu; jsmith@moultrietech.edu; lkeith@moultrietech.edu
