23 from 13 countries take oath as new US citizens in Vermont

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - There are 23 new United States citizens following a naturalization ceremony held in the gymnasium of a Vermont middle school.

The people from 13 countries took the oath of citizenship Thursday at the Edmunds Middle School in Burlington.

Vermont Public Radio reports friends, families and students packed the gym to watch the ceremony in which the Oath of Allegiance was administered by federal judge John Conroy.

One of the new citizens is Ivona Koenig who took the oath on Thursday. She said she came to the U.S. more than 20 years ago from Poland and that as a child she remembers thinking about how great it would be to be in a country that is free and celebrates democracy.

___

Information from: WVPS-FM, http://www.vpr.net