Kenny Ventress, left, and Nina Thomas will have the opportunity this fall to spend a full academic year studying abroad in Germany through the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX). Originally members of the Class of 2020, they will return to ASMSA in August 2020 as part of the Class of 2021 to complete their ASMSA experience.
Leaving to Come Back ‘Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.’
Terry Pratchett, from ‘A Hat Full of Sky,’ a novel by the popular ‘Discworld’ fantasy novelist 8
Students choose to study abroad, including in yearlong programs
Four ASMSA students learned this spring that they will be studying abroad through two U.S. Department of State programs dedicated to introducing youth to international cultures and preparing them to be global leaders. Blaine Martin (’20) and Jared Block (’19) were each selected to participate in the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLIY) while Kenny Ventress (’21) and Nina Thomas (’21) are going to study in Germany through the CongressBundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX).
While several ASMSA students have been selected to participate in the NSLI-Y program in the past few years, this marks the first year students have been chosen for CBYX since 2011. CBYX allows students to spend a full academic year living with a German host family and attending a German school. Thomas and Ventress will leave in late August for their German stays. Thomas will be in Wiefeslstede where she will study at Kooperative Gesamtschule Rastede. Ventress will
