by Anne Havolick
I would like to recognize Sehar Malik for accomplishing a goal she had in mind for many years. Sehar came to the United States from Pakistan more than 20 years ago. During the time she's lived here, she learned to speak and understand English very well but had always considered reading and writing a barrier, so beginning in 2008 she made learning to read and write English a top priority. As she started to gain confidence and achieve small goals she set for herself, such as being able to write a sentence dictated to her and read stories, she decided to tackle a larger goal. On October 2, 2009, Sehar applied for the citizenship test. She spent nearly five full months-up to her assigned date of March 23-preparing for the test. During that time, she learned a lot about American history, government, and geography in addition to many new words for reading and writing. Having had only a few years of formal education in her own country, she had to learn study skills as well. On her assigned test date, she passed all sections of the test and got to take her oath the very same day. Now, through discipline, devotion, and hard work, Sehar is a full fledged citizen of the United States of America.
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