Red Sandstone Elementary School celebrates custodian’s citizenship
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After passing the U.S. citizenship test and clearing the interview process, Red Sandstone Elementary School custodian Maria Del Socorro Soto was excited to attend her naturalization ceremony in Denver on Thursday, Oct. 23.
She took the day off work and drove down to Denver, but when she got there, Soto learned that the ceremony had been canceled due to the ongoing government shutdown.
“She was very bummed out,” said Jenny Tomas, a Health Assistant at Red Sandstone Elementary School. “She showed up with her family, dressed and ready to go, and they told her that the ceremony was cancelled.”
Difficult journey
The situation in Denver was one more setback in what has been a rough couple of years for Soto.
She was once married and felt like her status as a legal U.S. resident would always be secure. As a mother of four, working two jobs, she didn’t have much time to deal with the next steps of turning residency into citizenship, which can be a difficult process.
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But Soto said when her marriage was ending, threats of losing her residency status began to surface alongside the other problems that led to her divorce.
It was then, she said, that she knew she had to do what it takes to become a full-fledged U.S. citizen.
While she didn’t have much free time, it occurred to her that perhaps she could use modern technology to multitask her way through the studying she would need to do to pass the citizenship test. She purchased an app and began listening to it while at work.
“I remember after school, she would be cleaning and hearing all these questions and repeating them,” Tomas said.
Soto said the ability to work and study at the same time made all the difference.
“It would have been a lot more difficult to move ahead and study and accomplish this,” Soto said.
Tomas said watching Soto prepare for the test brought back memories of watching her own mother become a citizen.
“I remember her being so nervous,” Tomas said. “I think it’s a big accomplishment to become a citizen of this country that we all live in and love.”
‘I felt so loved’
When Tomas told Red Sandstone Principal Anne Heckman about the cancellation of Soto’s immigration ceremony, Heckman decided to hold a party of their own at the school on Wednesday. They spent a few days planning, unbeknownst to Soto.
A red, white and blue cake and cupcakes were ordered; American balloons were inflated, the cafeteria was draped in American flags and the students prepared a large banner with personalized messages celebrating Soto’s accomplishment.
In addition to the many notes of congratulations, the students also thanked Soto for what is often a thankless job, cleaning up after them.
“I was shocked, I didn’t know what to say,” she said. “The whole time I was just trying to hold back my tears. I felt like the most important woman in the world. I have never received so many hugs from the students; I felt so loved.”
