“If a window of opportunity appears, don’t pull down the shade” -Tom Peters
Hi everyone! For my first post, I want to explain why I decided to become an exchange student and how I was given this opportunity. To start, I need to go back to about 2005. From the time I was five years old up until last year, my family has hosted seven exchange students. I guess you could say growing up with different cultures sparked my interest in learning about different people and traditions from all over the world. I have always loved traveling and I thought being an exchange student would be cool. However, I knew studying abroad was expensive and believe it or not, I didn’t really want to miss a year of high school.
Why Germany?
My love for Germany began my Freshman year when I took my first German class. All four years of high school, German was by far my favorite subject. In 2015 I was given the opportunity to study abroad in Berlin for a month through the CIEE Global Navigators Scholarship program. After returning from my summer in Berlin, I decided that I wanted a career in foreign relations and become fluent in German. In my German class, I heard about the program CBYX. I was told I could receive a full scholarship to study abroad for a year. I also found out I was eligible for the program up until I turned 19. A full scholarship to study abroad in Germany the year after my high school graduation? How could I say no to that kind of opportunity?
What is CBYX?
CBYX stands for Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange. This program was started in 1983 to strengthen ties between Germany and the United States. Funded by the U.S. Congress and German Bundestag, scholarships are given out to 250 American students going to Germany and 250 German students going to the U.S. This year I am honored to be one of those recipients! Did I mention this is a full scholarship? Well, it is! My scholarship covers everything except spending money and money towards my passport and Visa. I already had a passport and my Visa was maybe $50, so CBYX is definitely worth applying for! (for more information about CBYX, visit their website: http://www.usagermanyscholarship.org/ )
CBYX partners with four different exchange companies (YFU, CIEE, AFS, and ASSE) based upon region. Because I am a Wisconsinite, my exchange student company is YFU (Youth For Understanding). Forty-nine other CBYX scholarship recipients are with YFU as well. Two weeks before our departure, we attended the YFU National Pre-Departure Orientation where we connected with all of the students going on exchange through YFU. Along with the pre-departure orientation, I had a month-long orientation in Germany with the other CBYX/YFU kids. Don’t worry, I’ll have a separate post telling all about my month in Osterode.
Host an exchange student!
As for now, I want to encourage everyone to check out CBYX and think about hosting an exchange student (after all we are pretty cool!). I have learned so much from my experiences hosting exchange students and I probably wouldn’t be where I am today without them. I am also incredibly thankful for this opportunity to study abroad. I have been given one of the greatest gifts in the world!
I hope you all enjoyed my first blog post and I am excited to share more! Feel free to ask me questions! It might inspire one of my upcoming posts!
P.S. Here are some pictures from our National Pre-Departure Orientation!
All of the YFU exchange students at NPDO 
I was on the Green Team at NPDO!
Oh, the Places I'll Go! 