Once a Lost Boy of Sudan, former refugee Mogtaba Mokhtar Maki, 27, left, breaks into a smile as he raises his right hand to become one of 53 people sworn in as a U.S. citizen Thursday morning in the federal courthouse in downtown Tampa.
Four years ago, writer Saundra Amrhein and I got to watch Mogtaba be reunited with his dad and sisters. So it was nice when Saundra called last week to ask if I wanted to photograph Mogtaba becoming a U.S. citizen for a follow up. His is a pretty inspiring story of perseverance and overcoming some pretty amazing obstacles.
It was pretty great to see this huge grin on Mogtaba's face afterward, and for him to tell us how happy he is now that he finally has a place to call home. Sometimes in the midst of all the doom and gloom of newspapers, and all the hustle and bustle of our days it's easy to lose track of how cool our jobs really are. Honestly, how many people can say they get to witness and record so many amazing moments? So many important parts of people's lives? So many cool things like this?
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