Nearly 17 years after moving to America, Mrs. Antonia Doherty, Mathematics Department Chair, has officially become a United States citizen.

Mrs. Doherty originally came to the U.S. because her husband, Chris Bowles, wanted to work abroad. The two of them came to the U.S. in 1999, and she began working at Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward, California.  Mrs. Doherty  taught at Moreau for three years before relocating to Sacramento and applying for a job at Jesuit High School in 2002.

Outside of class, Mrs. Doherty enjoys spending time with her husband and her two boys, Benny and Sammy and socializing with friends.  She also enjoys tennis, golfing, and going to the movies. She has also taken a liking to California weather. She insists that British and American cultures are fairly similar, but she cites differences in senses humor and house size (she was pleased to find that American houses are, on the whole, bigger).  

“I’m pretty adaptable, so I got used to [life in America] pretty quickly,” Mrs. Doherty said. “The teaching doesn’t feel that different.”

After settling into an American life for a number of years, Mrs. Doherty decided that it was time to apply for permanent citizenship as opposed to renewing her green card.

“It’s exciting to be a greater part of the country,”  Mrs. Doherty said. “It’s a statement of our (my husband’s and my) feelings on it. We feel a part of it.”

That feeling of inclusion means that Mrs. Doherty and her family plan to remain in America for the foreseeable future.