Rwanda native Richard Tumushime said he never dreamed the day would come when he would become an American citizen.

But on Friday morning at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Tumushime and 100 others recited the Oath of Allegiance, collectively renouncing loyalty to 44 nations and promising to support and defend the United States of America.

“I'm so excited. It's my pleasure to be part of this nation,” said Tumushime of Pittsburgh's South Hills. “It's beyond a dream.”

Surrounded by his family, Tumushime said he and his wife have been trying to explain the significance of the event to their daughters, ages 3 and 15 months.

“I'm trying to tell them how lucky (they are) to have freedom of speech, freedom of expression,” he said. “That any dream you have can come true. It doesn't matter the color of your skin or if you're a boy or a girl.”

IUP has hosted the hour-long naturalization ceremony for new citizens from Western Pennsylvania for five years.

President Michael Driscoll told the audience Friday that the rights and freedoms they have gained come with responsibilities.

“Those inalienable rights are yours, but you are also required to uphold them for others,” Driscoll said. “We do not rely on blood lines or a state religion or autocratic rulers to ensure social cohesion; rather we rely on a shared commitment to fundamental principles and ideals — that's what holds us together as a nation.”

As Driscoll and others spoke, little girls in fancy dresses and boys in dress shirts and sweater vests chattered on their parents' laps and danced up and down the aisles of Toretti auditorium at IUP's Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex.

After the citizenship candidates recited the oath, keynote speaker Ahmad Tarhini, an associate professor of medicine in the hematology/oncology division at UPMC, noted that the United States, with its “rich diversity” makes a wonderful place for the new citizens' children to grow and thrive.

“We are diverse and different and yet so similar, so proudly connected by the common thread of American citizenship now,” said Tarhini, who came to the United States in 2000 from Lebanon. He and his wife, who also was naturalized Friday, live with their three children in Squirrel Hill.

Tarhini said the Lebanese government did not serve its people well and was easily abused, leading to a devastating civil war that caused many in the region to flee and seek a better life elsewhere.

“This sad history made it so meaningful for me to observe and experience the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution here in America,” he said.

Tarhini urged his fellow citizens to action, imploring them to vote, to be active in their communities and to exercise their freedoms.

“It is by living and practicing your American citizenship that you truly become an American,” Tarhini said.

For John Da Ferdeyah Freeman, the journey to citizenship began in 2001 when he left his home in Liberia during a civil war. He moved to Ghana until he immigrated to the United States three years ago.

Now a senior at Point Park University who lives in Baldwin, Freeman said he believes “the sky is the limit.”

“This country has done so much for me,” Freeman said. “I have to give back to the country that took me in.”

Kari Andren is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-850-2856 or kandren@tribweb.com.

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