Published: March 2013
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huda Rijal ’16 was among 94 immigrants who took the Oath of Allegiance to the United States before a U.S. District Court judge (George A. O’Toole, Jr. ’69, P’09, ’11) in Robsham Theater on March 21. In 2008, he and his family were the first Bhutanese to be resettled in America from Nepal, where more than 100,000 Bhutanese are living in refugee camps. With the help of Lutheran Social Services, the family found a home in New Hampshire. Rijal intends to major in biology and/or chemistry at Boston College.
The naturalization ceremony took place at the University at the invitation of the Graduate School of Social Work, which in fall 2012 opened its Immigration Integration Lab to study the needs of immigrants and develop strategies for aiding newcomers. Part of the University’s Sesquicentennial celebration, the ceremony in Robsham reflects Boston College’s early role in educating the sons of local Irish immigrants.