This Canadian Citizenship Week (April 12–18, 2026), we’re honoured to share a story from within our own team. Maria Paula Segura Maldonado, Marketing Specialist on our Marketing and Communications team, reflects on becoming a Canadian citizen in the summer of 2025.
Her story speaks to what so many newcomers in our community experience: the joy, the longing, and the profound meaning of finally belonging.
I am from Bogotá, Colombia. I became a citizen of Canada on July 3, 2025.
I never imagined becoming a Canadian citizen when I was younger, but my whole journey, since the first moment I came to Canada in 2018, led me to this wonderful moment.
My husband Peter deserves no small part of the credit for me being here. He is my rock. He supported me through all my jobs, my education, building my skills, trying to learn French. He taught me about Canada and welcomed me into his family and his customs. And he has always been proud of where I come from, proud to say his wife is Colombian and Canadian.
The ceremony was more emotional than I expected. When the welcoming video played, I teared up a little. I saw all those symbols and landscapes that I had come to know over the years, places where I now have memories, and knowing how meaningful that was gave me so many different emotions at once.
The most powerful moment was singing the anthem for the first time as a citizen. That sense of belonging, the one that so many of us search for as immigrants, especially in those first years, was suddenly, fully there. I even tried to sing in French. It was a bit challenging, but just as special.
Peter and I celebrated by taking a trip to Banff with his family, something very Canadian, exactly right for the moment.
It was also bittersweet. I wished my family could have been there to share that moment with me, and having them far away on such a significant day was difficult. That mix of happiness and sadness is something I will carry with me always.
Borders belong on maps. Love and resilience are so much bigger than that.
— Maria Paula Segura Maldonado
That feeling only deepened through my work at MOSAIC. Working here has opened my eyes in ways I didn’t anticipate. Through this work, I came to understand that all of us immigrants arrive with different stories and different backgrounds, but we share so much in common.
We all want to belong, but keep our heritage alive. We want to contribute to our new society, but we don’t want to forget home. We try to find ways to keep contributing to both. And at the end, we find ourselves in this same process, coming from so many different places, and eventually becoming fellow citizens.
For me and my family, becoming a Canadian citizen also means flexibility: the ability to belong to two different places, to enjoy both cultures, both languages, and to embrace each of them as home and identity. It is a privilege I do not take lightly.
It is truly an honour, and a big responsibility, too. I hope to keep contributing to this country and this community with care and commitment, while honouring where I come from and keeping my heritage alive.
Planning your own citizenship journey? Read our Canadian Citizenship Guide for helpful resources. MOSAIC also periodically offers Citizenship Workshops, stay tuned for upcoming dates on our website and social media.
