The pledges of allegiance to the flags of America and Texas are commonplace before any Commissioners Court meeting.

But Tuesday’s carried with them a little more pride for one Denton County employee, as newly minted U.S. citizen Budi Yulianto led the oaths.

Originally from Indonesia, he said he wanted to become a U.S. citizen because he “liked the country for its freedoms and liked working for the county.”

Yulianto has been with Denton County for eight years, serving as application development manager for the last three years. Kevin Carr, county director of information services, said Yulianto began working for the county when he was in school and here on a work visa. He obtained his green card and later went for citizenship.

“I know that was kind of always something he was working for and hoping to make this his permanent home,” Carr said.

The man has been a hardworking and dedicated employee who is quiet and gets his work done, coming in anytime it’s necessary, Carr said.

“It’s with a lot of pride to say [Yulianto] became a citizen last week,” Carr said during the Tuesday morning meeting as he introduced Yulianto to the court.

“It’s an honor to have [Yulianto] here today to lead us in a Pledge of Allegiance to our great country.”

Yulianto said he was nervous while leading the pledges but happy for his citizenship. The process for him was a smooth one.

DRC/Barron Ludlum

Budi Yulianto worked for the Denton County technical department for more than eight years while the county sponsored his work visa. Last week, the Indonesian native became a U.S. citizen.

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“You basically have to prepare documents and study for the test,” he said. “They gave us a hundred questions to prepare, and you just have to answer the first six questions correctly ... about history, government of America.”

Yulianto was all smiles after the meeting when talking about his citizenship or when receiving congratulations from people on his way out of the Courthouse on the Square.

Along with fellow county employees, Yulianto said, his family was happy for him as well.

“Even my 1-year-old son seemed happy during the ceremony,” he said.

BJ LEWIS can be reached at 940-566-6875. His e-mail address is blewis@dentonrc.com .