Michelle Clement-St. Louis knew a long time ago when she lived on a small island nation hugging the coast of South America that she wanted to become a U.S. citizen.
The dream she conceived when just 18 in Trinidad and Tobago became a reality on Friday in Scranton's federal courthouse.
Ms. Clement-St.Louis, 46, joined 44 other former residents of countries scattered throughout the world to take an oath of allegiance to the United States and become U.S. citizens at a naturalization ceremony .
"I'm elated," she said moments after walking up to a dais before a panel of federal judges to receive her certificate of naturalization. "Words cannot express what it's like to be an American."
Others at Friday's ceremony once called Afghanistan, Brazil, Egypt, Jamaica, Kyrgyzstan, South Korea, Uzbekistan and Vietnam home - 23 countries in total.
For Maribel Chavez, home is now Hazleton. She left the Dominican Republic several years ago to be closer to her family.
"I didn't want to have my family divided," said Ms. Chavez, 38. And now "there are more opportunities than I had before."
The ceremony began with remarks by U.S. District Judge Malachy E. Mannion, who spoke fondly of his mother's choice to leave Canada and come to the U.S. She had no job, no property and no car.
"No dream is impossible," Judge Mannion said. "You can help write the next great chapter in our American story."
Ms. Clement-St.Louis, of Saylorsburg, came to the U.S. with "nothing," she said.
Since arriving in the U.S. in 1998, she has gone on to earn an associate degree in social work and has nearly finished her bachelor's degree in the same discipline.
She plans to continue her education in a master's program and hopefully become a teacher.
"I want to give back to society, wholeheartedly," she said.
Contact the writer: smcconnell@ timesshamrock.com, @smcconnellTT on Twitter