Sometimes I Get to Do Cool Stuff at Work

So for anyone who doesn't know, I am working as an extern for Judge Weber this summer. He's a senior federal district court judge and so far I am loving my summer work. I do a lot of research and writing, but I also get to sit in on pleas, meetings in chamber, basically anything that happens in our courtroom. Well today I got to sit in on something especially cool: a naturalization hearing. A naturalization hearing is essentially the ceremony where people become American citizens. There were 70 people from 39 different countries at the ceremony today and each of them stood up and said their name and where they were from - it was absolutely amazing how many different places were represented. The ceremony felt like a graduation with speakers and congratulations and then everyone's loved ones taking pictures as they said their oath. It was actually a very moving experience and a wonderful way to finish up the week.