For most new citizens at Wollongong City Council's Australia Day citizenship ceremony, a certificate and miniature flags sufficed as souvenirs, but not for Junior Mushaba.
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Instead, the 18-year-old flung his arm around a surprised Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery and snapped a selfie to commemorate his first few seconds of Australian citizenship.
Mr Mushaba joined 89 others receiving Australian citizenship at the popular Australia Day ceremony.
The teenager was forced to leave central Africa with his family seven years ago due to brutal civil war.
"When I first came here from Congo, it was hard to get around and understand English but there is nothing here I don't like," he said.
Asked why he decided to break from the traditional handshake to go for a Lord Mayoral selfie, he replied: "Because this is such a big time in my life!"
Mr Mushaba finished high school last year and intends to become a plumber while considering university for the future.
The Bukasa family also calls Wollongong home after fleeing the Congo war.
Marie Ngoy, her husband, Hyeronime, and their sons, Christian, Kevin, Ernest and Oscar, posed for family photos after collecting their citizenship certificates.
"It was hard to make friends at first but now the best thing about living here is the friends I've made. I want to stay here forever, my life is here," Christian said.
Bishoy Eid, originally from Egypt, juggled his young son in one arm and his certificate in the other as he accepted his citizenship.
"He's helping me today, he is our first Australian," he said.
Australia Day Ambassador Lynne Williams welcomed the citizenship candidates into what she called "our family".
"In families, it isn't always smooth sailing ... we need new members to join our family to make our communities more tolerant," she said.
Her speech didn't shy away from controversial topics.
"We need to stop and think, to look at the blockages in the family, why is there poverty, domestic violence, why does our indigenous community feel marginalised?" she asked.
"On Australia Day, we should all make a commitment to find solutions."
Despite her government's internationally criticised refugee policy, Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells read a message from the Prime Minister emphasising Australia's migrant culture.
"To be Australian is to win the lottery of life ... just about every Australian is an immigrant," it said.
