SALISBURY - Dressed in the red-, white- and blue-striped skirt and blouse she had sewn by hand, Sonia Stacy became an American citizen late last year.

The citizenship ceremony on Nov. 8 took place at Boston's Faneuil Hall, with family and friends sitting in the balconies to each get a good view of the proceedings. Stacy's proud husband, Charlie; 11-year-old son, Peter; and sister-in-law Amantha Moore of Newburyport accompanied her as she took the oath with 380 other applicants.

"Yes, the journey to becoming a citizen by naturalization has been exciting and, at the same time, humbling. I feel very honored to belong to a nation of wonderful people," said Stacy, a Salisbury resident and instructional aide at Salisbury Elementary School.

That journey began in 1980 when Stacy met her husband, a Pittsfield native, who at the time was visiting Johannesburg, South Africa. Two years later the two married in a chapel in Stacy's hometown of Harare, Zimbabwe. The Stacys settled in South Africa for the first few years of marriage but in early October 1988 came to the United States.

Stacy's older sister and family live in Johannesburg, and her younger sister and husband live in Harare, Zimbabwe.

"I miss them intensely as well as many lifelong friends," she said. "Both South Africa and Zimbabwe are beautiful countries, and they will always be close to my heart and alive in my memories."

When they were beginning a family in 1998, the Stacys chose to come to Salisbury because they felt that the town was completely invested in the education of its children. Stacy has been working as an instructional assistant for more than four years at Salisbury Elementary School, where her son is a sixth-grader.

It didn't take long for her to feel a sense of acceptance in Salisbury's friendly and affirming community, she said.

Stacy had always dreamed of leading the students in the Pledge of Allegiance, and after her citizenship ceremony, her moment came to shine. She returned to Salisbury Elementary, where her No. 1 supporters, the students, waited to join in as she led that morning's Pledge of Allegiance.

Stacy enjoyed the rest of the day visiting classrooms and giving each student a small American flag. With great excitement and joy, Stacy explained to the students what it meant to her to be an American.

Stacy looks forward to many more years as a member of the Salisbury community. Embracing the American way of life as her very own, Stacy said, "I am amazed that the 19 years have flown by because I still feel the excitement I experienced when our plane touched down at Logan Airport all those years ago."