Fakeh Kume, center, who emigrated to the U.S. from Cameroon, takes a celebratory group selfie on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, with her mother Yaje Kume lower right, brother Bofua Kume, upper right, sister Yany Kume and aunt Bonkar Ngala, obscured on left, after taking the official oath of citizenship along with 287 other new citizens from 67 countries during a Naturalization Ceremony at Busch Stadium. Circuit Court Judge Raymond Gruender presided. Photo by Christian Gooden, cgooden@post-dispatch.com
Christian Gooden
Denise Correa De Oliveira, who emigrated to the U.S. from Brazil, pauses for a look at her new certificate of citizenship on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, after taking the oath of citizenship along with 287 other new citizens from 67 countries during a naturalization ceremony at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
ST. LOUIS — Sandra Yelle doesn’t know too much about baseball.
But Yelle, an immigrant from Ecuador, knew there were few places better than Busch Stadium to have been sworn in Wednesday as one of America’s newest citizens.
“There is nothing more American than this,” said Yelle, 35.
She was among 288 people who became U.S. citizens in one of the largest single naturalization ceremonies in St. Louis history. They came from 67 countries around the world. Normally, about 20 to 30 people are naturalized as U.S. citizens at a time, usually in a court building.
But Wednesday was the first time more than a few dozen were gathered for the ceremony here since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, officials said.
The jumbotron flashed each of their names: Khushboo Noori of Afghanistan. Miriam Ortiz Gonzalez of Mexico. Tahani Allawi of Syria. Gregory Isovich Radko of Ukraine. Huu Dung Le of Vietnam, among many others.
And they had a prime view for the occasion, in seats right behind home plate that usually sell for hundreds of dollars a pop. A giant American flag, downtown St. Louis and the Gateway Arch were in clear view.
Girish Dixit and his wife Shruthi registered to vote immediately after the ceremony, as did dozens of others, at a League of Women Voters table there. The couple immigrated to the U.S. from India and live in St. Charles.
“It’s one of the great honors and privileges that comes with citizenship,” said Dixit, 41, his young daughter tugging at his pants leg.
Loubao Kraka, 28, came to the U.S. from the Ivory Coast in 2012 to study.
He’d been in Busch Stadium once before — but for a soccer game. He calls it football.
Singing “The Star Spangled Banner” on Wednesday just after becoming a citizen made him feel something different.
“There was such an energy,” he said. “When they said, ‘Are you ready to bear arms for the United States of America?’ I thought, ‘Oh shoot, it’s getting serious.’”
Kraka, now a product manager for Visa Credit Cards, is building a startup company that offers medical care for chronic kidney disease in developing countries.
“When you are a citizen, it opens a lot of doors,” he said.
Outside, families posed for photos in front of the stadium, Cardinals hats on and flags in hand.
Yelle moved to the U.S. six years ago. For love.
She and her husband, Derek, celebrated their sixth wedding anniversary just days ago. The couple, who live in Manchester, married in Rochester, New York, in 2016.
“Now I have two reasons to celebrate this month,” Yelle said.
Yelle, who earned her master’s degree in tourism and hospitality in Ecuador, said she wants to enter public service in the U.S. using her fluency in English and Spanish.
Wednesday was her second time in a baseball stadium, after attending a Cardinals home game a year ago. She didn’t understand the rules of the sport, but she loved the atmosphere.
Returning for another special occasion “touched her heart,” she said.
“It makes it that much more special.”
Editor's note: This article has been edited to correct the day the event happened.
Photos: Immigrants become citizens in Busch Stadium, a very American venue
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Fakeh Kume, center, who emigrated to the U.S. from Cameroon, takes a celebratory group selfie on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, with her mother Yaje Kume lower right, brother Bofua Kume, upper right, sister Yany Kume and aunt Bonkar Ngala, obscured on left, after taking the official oath of citizenship along with 287 other new citizens from 67 countries during a Naturalization Ceremony at Busch Stadium. Circuit Court Judge Raymond Gruender presided. Photo by Christian Gooden, cgooden@post-dispatch.com
Denise Correa De Oliveira, who emigrated to the U.S. from Brazil, pauses for a look at her new certificate of citizenship on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, after taking the oath of citizenship along with 287 other new citizens from 67 countries during a naturalization ceremony at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.