Joseph Iradukunda, a former student at IHS, recently became a U.S. citizen. Joseph, originally from Rwanda, started school at Irvington Main Street School in the fourth grade and stayed through ninth grade, and then continued his high school education in Poughkeepsie.
After receiving the Higher Education Opportunity Scholarship from Marist College, he enrolled there and now is studying psychology with hopes of becoming a special education teacher.
Joseph said that becoming a U.S. citizen was “like a dream come true.” He also said that the process was long and that there were many steps.
When speaking about his time at Irvington, he said, “I really miss IHS. I was at IHS for two years, but in those two years I met great teachers.”
“[They] worked hard to make sure the students learned and they care about the students. All the teachers I had in Irvington were amazing”.
According to Marianne Kennedy, an ESL teacher at IHS, while Joseph attended the high school he was “hardworking, polite, kind, patient, and very, very motivated.”
One of her favorite memories of Joseph is “seeing him come back to our High School [for senior prom] and seeing him reconnect with his old friends.” Ms. Kennedy also described Joseph as “very sweet” and said that he “makes a big effort to stay in touch.”
“I miss friends in Irvington too because I had known most of them since fourth grade,” Joseph said.
He credited his faith, mother and friends as the reasons he was able to persevere through the long and difficult process of gaining citizenship.
