DELHI TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A Cincinnati-area teacher is finally a U.S. citizen after almost two decades.
Glenda Figuerido, a Spanish teacher at Mount Notre Dame High School in Reading, received her American citizenship Friday after 19 years.
She called it a "dream come true."
"Being an immigrant, it's also about being patient and flexible but believing," Figuerido said.
Figuerido was part of a naturalization ceremony at St. Dominic in Delhi. The ceremony featured 50 other new citizens, as well.
Alongside her family, staff members and students from Mount Notre Dame were at the ceremony to support her.
"I have been in love with this country. I'm so grateful for this country, and all the people that have helped me to here, and my family," Figuerido said. "I'm so happy to be finally part of it."
The teacher is originally from Brazil and came to the U.S. to work as a performer for Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus.
"With that job as a circus performer I got to see the beauty of this country," Figuerido said. "We traveled around the U.S. and I loved every single part of it."
During that time, she also met her husband, who is from Cincinnati. Figuerido said she eventually became a teacher because she fell in love with learning about another culture. She's also a dance teacher at a Cincinnati-area studio.
"We built our family here, and I built my career here," Figuerido said.
Figuerido said her goal as an official U.S. citizen is to help the next generation.
"I hope as a teacher to continue to educate young minds and celebrate the gift of diversity in the world," she said. "If I can do that, I'll be happy."
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