I am from Russia. My husband and I were born in Ukraine. We finished the school and the university in the city of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. I became a teacher of mathematics. I worked mainly in high school.
My husband was a naval officer. Therefore, he worked at the places near the water. We lived in the city Tallinn, the capital of Estonia; on an island in the North Ocean that is called New Earth; near the city Leningrad; and, in the city Leningrad.
We have two children. Our son with his family lives in New York. Our daughter with her family lives in Bellevue. We came to the USA in 2001. We came to Bellevue, to our daughter. Now my husband has passed away. I am old, but I hope to live still some more in order to help my grandson raise his children.
I want my grandsons to obtain good educations. They finished the university in the USA. Now I want my children and grandchildren to be healthy, have good jobs and be nice and honest people.
By Tsilya Shklyar
Tsilya became a US citizen on July 4, 2006 at Seattle Center. The ceremony took place in a park next to the Space Needle and was quite festive. There was music and speeches from the mayor and other dignitaries. Prior to that, Tsilya took classes at JFS Bellevue for 1-2 months. The classes were in English and helped with preparing for the Citizenship exam. JFS Bellevue also assisted in filling out all the naturalization paperwork. Tsilya said she felt complete confidence going into the exam and is very thankful for all the support. She is currently one of Leslie Taub’s ESL students.
