College of Law to Host Naturalization Ceremony on Friday

College of Law to Host Naturalization Ceremony on Friday

Dozens of people will become U.S. citizens during a naturalization ceremony at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 12, at The University of Toledo College of Law's McQuade Law Auditorium.

Judge Jack Zouhary of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio will preside over the ceremony being held in honor of Constitution Day.

Eugenio Mollo Jr., a clinical associate professor of law and director of the College of Law's Immigrant Justice Clinic, will be the guest speaker. Mollo will share reflections on his own family's immigration journey, including his parents' decision to move from Italy and raise him in a multilingual neighborhood in Chicago in the 1970s.

His father was later naturalized in 1978.

"My dad cherished his citizenship, and I'm excited for these soon-to-be citizens to share in the same benefits and opportunities that he and our family have enjoyed," Mollo said. "We're enriched by the history, culture and traditions that each of them brings to the United States."

Several UToledo students and faculty will participate in the ceremony during which approximately 40 people are expected to be naturalized.

Dr. James Holloway, president of UToledo, and Evan Zoldan, associate dean for academic affairs at the College of Law, will welcome the soon-to-be citizens.

Student Bar Association President Nev Johnson will open court, Student Government Vice President Jaden Bollinger will lead the Pledge of Allegiance and Student Government President Ira Snahoshchenko will recite "The New Colossus," the sonnet written by Emma Lazarus in 1883 that appears on a plaque at the base of the Statue of Liberty.

The UToledo Chamber Singers will sing the national anthem.

Finally, Student Bar Association Vice President Chris Ronald Albert will close court.

Constitution Day is annually observed in the United States to commemorate the formation and signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787. UToledo regularly hosts a naturalization ceremony in honor of Constitution Day.

The free, public event is sponsored by the College of Law and the Office of Government Relations.