(AP) — Some Lincoln students have experienced a firsthand civics lesson in watching their teacher take an oath of American citizenship.

Students in Teresa Barta’s Spanish language class gathered in the back of the classroom on Wednesday as she repeated the words so many immigrants have recited.

The 34-year-old Barta grew up in the Canary Islands, which have become an autonomous community of Spain. She met her future husband, Paul Barta, at an airport in southern Spain in 1998. He went on to graduate from Doane College and then attend Creighton Law School while he and Teresa exchanged emails.

In 2003 she moved to the United States and they married. She became a teacher and eventually joined the staff at Southeast High School in fall 2012.