Jesie Felipe was going to become a U.S. citizen. The swearing-in would take place in Tampa, so she was going to have to miss Wetzel\u2019s Geological Oceanography class.<\/p>\n
For Jesie, an 18-year-old freshman who was born in the Philippines to a Filipino father and a Japanese mother, becoming a citizen was more convenience than anything else. She\u2019s lived in the U.S. since she was 3 or 4 years and has always felt like an American. \u201cAt this point I basically lived as one,\u201d she says. She says she never suffered from any sort of discrimination.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1\/2″][image_with_animation image_url=”1384″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In”][vc_column_text]Jesie Felipe<\/i>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1\/1″][vc_column_text]But now she will be able to vote and travel with a U.S. passport. Things will be easier.<\/p>\n
Her parents wanted her to decide the question of citizenship herself. \u201cLike my mother, I have \u00a0been a permanent resident with a green card for most of my life,\u201d she says. \u201cWe chose to file for citizenship shortly before I turned 18 for convenience\u2014the process is different for a minor and much simpler.\u201d Her parents live in Wesley Chapel.<\/p>\n
Months after she applied, Jesie was told that her application had been accepted and that she could turn in her green card and be sworn in as a U.S. citizen.<\/p>\n
Wetzel says attendance isn\u2019t mandatory for her class but it\u2019s strongly encouraged and it was the only time Jesie has missed class. \u201cIt\u2019s important for them to be there,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n
But becoming a citizen is a big deal. \u201cI think it\u2019s wonderful,\u201d Wetzel says. \u201cI brought brownies to class and everybody celebrated and clapped. We were all happy to enjoy the moment with Jesie.”[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[vc_row type=”in_container” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text] Professor Laura Wetzel has heard a lot of excuses over the years for why a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":1384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,58,68],"tags":[132],"class_list":{"0":"post-1382","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-academics","8":"category-geosciences","9":"category-marine-science","10":"tag-laura-wetzel"},"yoast_head":"\n