Soldier Gains Citizenship To Pursue Career Opportunities
Florence Adejumo is a Nigerian, born and raised, with a dream of becoming a lawyer in the United States Army.
She enlisted in the Army reserves in January of 2021, and began applying for citizenship as soon as she arrived at basic training.
“The Army offers many opportunities to advance my career and help me on my path to becoming a lawyer, but to be able to commission as a JAG officer and hold clearances necessary to do the job, I have to be a U.S. citizen,” she said. “When they offered to help with the complicated process in basic, I took it.”
Adejumo completed her application and held onto it until she graduated AIT and officially became eligible to apply. Several months later she received notice that she was selected for her citizenship interview. She studied and passed all requirements on February 2, 2022, and was sworn in the next; finally becoming a citizen of the country she had enlisted to serve.
“It felt so good to see all of my efforts come to fruition,” she said. “The process of becoming a U.S. Citizen was very stressful at times. But now, I have many more opportunities to pursue my dream.”
Now Pfc. Adejumo, she works as a paralegal outside of the Army, and is also an Army Cadet in the Reserve Officer's Training Core at The University of Maryland. Her future plans include law school, before commissioning into the Army JAG Corps. Along the way, she hopes to use what she’s learned to help others on their path to citizenship.