GREEN COVE SPRINGS – The cafeteria of a local school morphed into a federal courtroom for about an hour last week as 46 people from 32 countries were took the oath to become new citizens of the United States.

At Green Cove Springs Junior High, Judge Marcia Morales Howard of the U.S. Middle District Court of Florida signed the order. Before each citizen candidate received documents, a student ambassador would introduce them and their country of origin.

Howard said citizenship ceremonies are usually held at a courthouse and she called it one of her favorite parts of the job. Howard said her parents fled from Cuba’s regime and its leaders’ restrictions on its citizens.

She highlighted that the candidates have been through years of interviews, tests and background checks. Howard asked students to think about what it means to be American.

“Ceremonies like this are those rare, life-changing moments that, for me, are simply unforgettable,” Howard said.

In the audience, Orazali Aydogdiyev waited for his wife Alina, a new citizen. Both are from Turkmenistan.

He looked on proudly.

“This is her moment,” Orazali Aydogdiyev said. “She fulfilled her time as a permanent resident. She’s going to be able to vote and really participate in the democratic process.”

Alina Aydogdiyev said she was thankful to have the ceremony at a large venue with family present. Through all the speakers and customs of the ceremony, she remembered the journey and the process to get there, she said.

“It took me 19 years to be here,” she said on the stage. “It’s so cool to be part of the official ceremony. … I cried the entire time, it was very emotional.”

A large portion of the school’s student body attended the ceremony. Eighth-grader Mills Weinstein opened the court. It involved a booming call to order, which he delivered from memory.

Weinstein said he got to see how valued citizenship is and how hard the candidates worked for it.

“I just thought it was amazing, just seeing all the people, hearing all their stories,” Weinstein said. “I felt honored to be a part of it.”

Superintendent David Broskie, a second-generation American, recalled that his grandfather was a plumber from Lithuanian, who married his Irish grandmother. Patriotic values were passed to Broskie’s father, who served in World War II, he said.

The Greatest Generation never took credit, and Broskie said he was often reminded how lucky he was to be an American.

“They came here for a better life and a better opportunity,” Broskie said. “Many of you here today are here for that better life and opportunity that America offers as the shining city on the hill.”

The new citizens conducted their first Pledge of Allegiance toward the end of the ceremony.

Before adjourning the court, Howard gave them more congratulations.

“On behalf of the court, I say to you, welcome fellow Americans.”